Snowbird's Last Stand
by sentinel28
Summary: With the Jaguars breaking through the defenses of Toriyama, it's do or die for the Snowbirds. Unfortunately, it looks like it might just be "die." But there is still hope...
1. A House on Fire

**_SNOWBIRD'S LAST STAND_**

**_Chapter 12 of the Snowbird Saga_**

_AUTHOR'S NOTES: Well, the wait wasn't too bad, I hope._

_ It's been a pretty rough semester for me so far, and it's not likely to get much easier. I finally got some free time this weekend and started hammering out an opening chapter to this story. Given how my schedule is, I don't know how good I'll be about updating, though. I'll try, but no promises._

_ This chapter takes place roughly between chapters 33 and 34 of _Blood Legacy.

* * *

_SDS _Minerva, _Inbound_

_Kagoshima, Pesht District, Draconis Combine_

_24 December 3051_

_Dear Mr. and Mrs. Jerome—_

_ It is with heavy heart and much sorrow that I must inform you of the death of your son, Eric. He was a brave MechWarrior and a fine man. By the time you receive this letter, you probably will already have gotten the official notification from the AFFC, but as your son's commanding officer, I felt you deserved to hear from me as well. _

_ Eric was killed on New Caledonia against the Wolves on 26 November 3051. It was a very confused battle in an old mine pit, and while I did not see your son go down, one of my lance commanders, Senefa Malthus, reports that she saw him get hit. He died standing up and fighting back, alongside his comrades, and while that's scant comfort to your loss…_

Sheila finished the letter, read it over, then saved it on the _Minerva's_ computer inside a folder marked simply _Killed in Action._ Next to the computer lay a single sheet of paper, held down by a coffee cup that rattled with the DropShip burning its way through atmosphere. Normally, this part of a voyage terrified Sheila, because of the rare but very real possibility of the DropShip simply disintegrating on reentry. Worse, it could last a good thirty minutes. Sheila found that keeping herself busy was the best way to stave off fear, and in any case, whatever she was feeling was nothing compared to what the families and friends of the people on the piece of paper would be feeling soon. Parsecs and weeks behind them, New Caledonia and Clan Wolf had claimed the lives of thirty-one Snowbirds. Normally it was the job of a chaplain to write letters to loved ones following a death, but the Snowbirds had no chaplain, and Sheila felt it was her job in any case. She knew these people, and ultimately their deaths were on her head.

She glanced at the names again, though she knew them by heart. Only five were MechWarriors: Kassy Holliday, Togan Nordkoping, Robert Copeland, Eric Jerome, Kaatha. The other twenty-six were tank crews, infantry, or techs, few of which Sheila actually knew—only John Williams, Jackson Dinson, and Vincent Lian were names that instantly brought faces in her mind's eyes. Sheila felt ashamed that she didn't know them all, but there had been so little time on Sudeten.

Actually, there were only twenty-nine letters to write. Kassy Holliday had not left any next of kin; as far as her former lover Cecilia Masterson knew, if Holliday had any family they had long ago disowned her. The only member of Kaatha's family left was two decks below, alive but despondent. Felisanna didn't need a letter. She had seen it happen before her eyes. Of all the Snowbirds, Kaatha's death hit the hardest. Sheila had gotten so accustomed to seeing the old veteran there when the lance was formed or when there were briefings that she had taken Kaatha something for granted. Now she was gone. The only comfort was that the Snowbirds had at least gotten her body back, along with the others who had fallen at the mine pit, in exchange with the Wolves. The Wolves had been reluctant to do even that, but getting their captured MechWarriors and Elementals back alive had finally convinced them to give the Snowbirds 24 hours to recover their fallen. It wasn't much, because a formal burial would have to wait until they returned to the Federated Commonwealth; until then, the bodies would be kept disturbingly but necessarily in the _Minerva's_ meat locker.

What was comforting to Sheila and the others were the names that were on a separate sheet of paper, but one with a heading _Wounded in Action._ Twenty-three names were on that list, none more important to Sheila than the name at the top: _Canis, Maximilian._

Sheila had won her battle on Brecon Plain through deceit; Max had won his at the tunnel through raw courage. The Wolves had been so stunned by the sudden, mad charge that had carried both Max's _Battlemaster_ and the _Daishi_ over the cliff that they had hesitated. David Moore had seen a chance and taken it, throwing everything he had left at the Wolves in the hopes that they would break before the Snowbirds. He had been right: the Elementals had already been on the ropes fighting heavy tanks, direct fire artillery, and maddened techs, and the 'Mechs had found themselves in a close-range fight they were ill-suited to, with their primary firepower taken out of the fight in the first minute. The 'Mechs had retreated, leaving Elemental Star Captain Marijoan Shaw alone. She had surrendered by the time Sheila's relief column reached the tunnel. Sheila had briefly considered killing Shaw and her Elementals out of hand after hearing of Erik Kerensky's "no prisoners" order, but changed her mind after she found Max injured, unconscious, but alive at the bottom of the canyon. Instead, she had told the Elementals to strip off their armor and start walking east, through the tunnel. Shaw had nodded, told Sheila, "We're not all Erik Kerenskys," and left.

Max had suffered a mild concussion and a dislocated shoulder, but he was all right otherwise and resting in a bunk behind her. Of the other MechWarriors, Troms Fiordur had cuts and bruises, but nothing serious, and to everyone's surprise, despite her _Panther_ being blown in half, Glynnis Griffin had climbed out of the destroyed 'Mech with nothing worse than a jammed index finger. Tam Seneca had woken up a week after being knocked out at the mine pit, demanding to know what happened to his 'Mech and for a stiff drink. Only Kahvi Falx, who had a broken arm, and Ariel Munroe, who was still in intensive care but expected to live, were still combat ineffective among the MechWarriors. Most of the tankers, techs, and infantry would also be back on duty before the first of the year as well. Considering the odds, thirty-one people was a small price to pay. Sheila was sure the historians would say she had gotten away with light casualties, despite being outnumbered and outgunned…but they weren't the ones who had to write the letters.

There was a slight knock at the door. "Come in," Sheila said. She heard the door hiss open and the click of crutches on the deck; Mimi Stykkis was no longer capable of sneaking up on anyone. "What is it, Mimi?"

"Just brought you a cup of coffee, with a little extra. Thought you might need it. I recall you're none too fond of DropShips." Mimi set down a steaming cup next to the empty mug. Sheila picked it up and took a sip, then winced. There was the unmistakable taste of vodka. "Just what I needed," Sheila coughed out. "A White Russian."

"Like I said, figured you needed something."

"Thanks." Actually, it was the last thing Sheila needed, but she appreciated the effort. Somehow Mimi had balanced two cups of coffee—she was drinking the other mug—and walked from the _Minerva's_ galley, up two decks, and to Sheila's cabin despite walking with crutches and the shaking and rattling of a DropShip in reentry. Everyone was supposed to be confined to their cabins until the all-clear, but Mimi had always figured that rules only applied to other people.

"How's Max?"

"Resting. He had to take a painkiller for his shoulder."

"Too bad." Mimi smiled devilishly. "He could've shown you a real hot reentry."

"Not in the mood, Mimi." Sheila nodded at the screen.

"Oh. Still at it, huh?" Mimi took another drink. "Marion offered to write those, you know."

"So did Elfa. But I'm in command, Mimi."

Mimi sighed. "Was there something else?" Sheila asked sharply.

"Captain Baron said that _Chu-sa_ Nakamura is waiting for us on Kagoshima with some other Snake high mucky-muck or some other. Satori something."

"Hestor Satoridon. He's the CO of the 1st Sun Zhang Cadre. Probably commands the garrison here."

"Yeah, that's him." Mimi waited for Sheila to say something else, but when nothing else was forthcoming, sighed again. "Well, see you dirtside."

"Yeah. Thanks, Mimi," Sheila said distractedly. Mimi hobbled out as the shuddering ceased and the ride began to smooth out some, indicating the _Minerva_ had safely made it through the atmosphere. Sheila looked after Mimi for a moment, then opened a new window on the computer and started a new letter.

_Dear Mr. Kuchiki…_

* * *

The _Minerva_ and the Snowbirds' other DropShip, the _Cambrai,_ landed half an hour and one letter later. As the DropShips secured and prepared to offload the Snowbirds' remaining 'Mechs and tanks, Sheila dressed in her formal uniform. Max closed the clasp on her cape. "You look fine," he reassured her.

"I don't feel fine," she replied. "I wish we could just skip all this formal stuff, get two weeks rest, load up and head back."

Max fastened his own cape. He winced as tendrils of pain wound their way up his shoulder. It was healing well, but still hurt. He was in better shape than his _Battlemaster_, which would be spending some time in the 'Mech bay. Nicia Caii was sure she could get it back in action soon enough, but it would require the services of a repair facility. Kagoshima had one that would be adequate, but no one knew how forthcoming the Draconis Combine would be. Sheila and Max had been raised to see House Kurita as an enemy; the Kuritans surely felt the same about them. It was an alliance of convienence at the moment, and would take more than a handshake between Hanse Davion and Theodore Kurita to erase almost three hundred years of hatred.

They left the tiny cabin that had been their home for nearly a month. Already they felt the heaviness of Kagoshima's gravity, which was slightly higher than Terra standard; the DropShip was a good bit less than Terra standard, as it relied on slow turning to generate a degree of artificial gravity. They would probably be tired for a few days, but it was good to be back on solid ground. Everyone in the _Minerva_ stopped for a moment as the hatches were open and cool air flowed into the DropShip: fresh air that wasn't recirculated and didn't have a metallic smell.

The lower 'Mech bay was filled with Snowbirds and DropShip crew, but Sheila and Max would be the first out, with Nisa Kinosh in full if battered armor just behind, just in case. As the trio walked out of the DropShip's passenger hatch, heat from reentry still shimmered off the _Minerva's_ hull. Coming towards them were two men, wearing the white dress uniforms of the Draconis Combine Mustered Soldiery with paired swords thrust into their belts, and both wearing heavy pistols as well. Apparently, the Kuritans trusted the Snowbirds somewhat more than vice-versa, but not much more.

Sheila felt a little better when she recognized Lee Nakamura. She stepped forward slightly, and bowed to all three men, hoping she got the angle correct. Noting that the sun was setting but still above the horizon, she said formally, _"Konnichi wa,_ _Chu-sa_ Nakamura."

Nakamura grinned and returned the bow, then stuck out his hand. "Good afternoon, Commander Arla-Vlata. It's good to see you hale and hearty. We heard through intelligence sources of the battle on New Caledonia and were not sure you'd be here at all. It was good to hear from you at the rendezvous in Brocchi's Cluster. I would have been there myself, but unfortunately there were matters of state."

"_Domo arigato,_ Chu-sa," Sheila replied.

"May I introduce _Tai-sa_ Hestor Satoridon, commander of the 1st Sun Zhang Cadre." Nakamura motioned to a man on his left. Satoridon was shorter than Sheila by a good three inches, and an otherwise handsome face was marred by a scar down his right cheek. His black hair was beginning to show signs of gray, but otherwise Sheila could not guess his age. He did not smile at her, and though Sheila was careful to bow slightly deeper and hold the bow a half-second longer than she had for Nakamura, Satoridon returned the bow only just enough to be polite. Wondering if she had already made a _faux pas,_ Sheila began, "_Konnichi wa, Tai-sa—_"

"I speak English," Satoridon cut her off.

"I was just trying to—"

"I know what you are trying to do," Satoridon growled. "And I know what you want. _Chu-sa_ Nakamura here has already briefed me. You'll get what you want, Commander Arla-Vlata. You'll have your 'Mechs and tanks fully repaired. And as soon as that is done, you and your hireswords will leave Kagoshima and return to your own realm, and leave us to ours." Before anyone could say anything further, Satoridon spun on one foot and walked away, leaving them all speechless.

Nakamura turned to Sheila, his grin now sheepish. "I apologize for the Tai-sa's actions. Attitudes change very slowly in the Combine when it comes to mercenaries."

Sheila watched Satoridon's stiff back as it disappeared into the terminal of the Edo DropPort. The Kurita colonel's actions had been highly impolite by Kurita standards; if she had been a samurai, it might have been enough to kill Satoridon over. Sheila was not a samurai however, and merely sighed. "No problem, Chu-sa. I can see that we're going to get along like a house on fire." _And I hope the bastard burns,_ Sheila added silently.

Nakamura chuckled. "Well, it's not just you or the Snowbirds, Commander. We received word while you were in transit. The Smoke Jaguars and Nova Cats are massing to attack Luthien. We figure they will strike on New Year's Eve or immediately thereafter."

Sheila thought that she should feel surprised, but she wasn't. Part of it had to be the lingering fatigue, but part of it was that it made military sense. Luthien was the nerve center of the Combine, the seat of its government and location of much of its heavy industry, including the colossal Luthien Armor Works, the largest 'Mech production facility in the realm. Taking Luthien would badly damage House Kurita's ability to defend itself; if they could kill either Takashi Kurita, the Combine's ruler, or his son Theodore, the DCMS' commander, it might win the war on this front for the Clans. "I suppose the DCMS is massing everything you've got to defend it."

"As much as we can—five regiments, including the Otomo, both Genyosha regiments, the 1st Sword of Light, and the 2nd Legion of Vega, last we heard." His face betrayed nothing, but Sheila and Max shared a glance: five regiments would not be enough, not with what the Smoke Jaguars and Nova Cats could throw against the planet. Granted, the population of Luthien would probably die to the last man to defend the Imperial Palace, but rifles and grenades against 'Mechs and Elementals would only ensure that millions of people would die gloriously. The Snowbirds had gotten lucky with the Wolves only because they had caught Erik Kerensky by surprise twice, and that they had fought harder—and even then.

Nakamura gestured towards the departed Satoridon. "The Tai-sa is angry because his Sun Zhang Cadre was stripped of all the upperclassman cadets to fill out the 2nd Legion of Vega's ranks. He wanted to evacuate Kagoshima entirely and have the entire Cadre on Luthien, but the Kanrei—" he referred to Theodore Kurita "—refused to take the sophomores or freshmen. He says that if Luthien falls, we will need young men and women to retake it later."

"I suppose Tai-sa Satoridon didn't like that idea," Max said.

"Not at all."

"What's left to defend Kagoshima?" Sheila asked.

"One battalion of cadets, plus three regiments of militia." Nakamura shook his head. "Not much, granted, but it's not likely Kagoshima will be attacked. Other than the Sun Zhang Academy, there's nothing really here to attract the Clans. If Luthien falls, Kagoshima has been designated the rally point, but if your Senefa Malthus is correct, the Clans' objective is Terra, and Kagoshima is a bit off the beaten path. Did Lance Commander Malthus survive, by the way? I found her to be quite interesting."

"Senefa's fine," Sheila replied, with a bit of a smile. Senefa Malthus was fine and of all the Snowbirds, probably the happiest. Killing Erik Kerensky had settled an old vendetta, and she had been busy helping Nicia Caii do what repairs they could on the trip. Any animosity towards the ex-Clanswoman from the other Snowbirds was gone forever.

"That's good. And how about Bob Copeland? He and I are to coordinate payment of what the Snowbirds will need to get here."

"Copeland's dead," Sheila said flatly, her smile fading. "He got it in the last battle on New Caledonia."

"How bad?" Nakamura asked. Sheila had not transmitted a casualty report; she didn't want ComStar—and hence the Clans—to know just how badly the Snowbirds had been shot up.

"Thirty-one KIA, 23 wounded," Max told him.

Nakamura sighed. "I see. Terrible. You have my sympathies. Well." He nodded to both of them. "We'll worry about payment later. Why don't you get your battalion unloaded, and we'll get all the 'Mechs and tanks where they need to be. We also have some comfortable lodgings for you—we'll put you up in some of the empty dorms. I figured that you would be tired from your long journey, so since tomorrow is the Christian Christmas, we can have a formal dinner then. Would that suffice?" The last thing Sheila wanted was to have a dinner with Satoridon, but she agreed. "Good. Shall we get started, then?" Nakamura smiled, then walked towards the _Minerva_, exchanging greetings with Kinosh on the way.

"You know, it's crazy," Max said, "but I'd completely forgotten tomorrow is Christmas."

"Me too," Sheila replied. "Well…it's not going to be a very merry one."

They followed Nakamura to the DropShip.


	2. A Hymn for the Fallen

_AUTHOR'S NOTES: Got on a writing jag today and just couldn't slow down. (I love it when that happens.) So here's the next chapter of this story._

_No combat in this one, and it probably reads like a soap opera, with lots of stuff about relationships and angst (and some humor, too). But the Snowbirds are humans too, and it's not all 'Mech fighting. Besides, things have changed for some of the characters, and I wanted to update a little on that—I haven't talked about Tooriu and Elfa's May-December relationship for some time, nor have I resolved Felisanna and Bien Canonizado's budding relationship, or explained the sudden closeness of Philip Scott and Tessya Blackthorn. Naturally, Sheila's got a part in all this too—it is her story, after all._

_I found out Sun Zhang isn't actually on Kagoshima (it's on New Samarkand), so treat this as a "satellite" campus. Also, there's a good deal of talking about sex in here, so this chapter is probably PG-13 at least._

_Finally, Father Wielkosc is based on a real person, a Polish monsignor who has since passed on. He wasn't a former soldier, but might as well have been—he survived being imprisoned in Dachau and Bergen-Belsen concentration camps in World War II. Probably the bravest man I've ever met, so I wanted to pay a small tribute to greatness (which is what "wielkosc" means in Polish)._

_REVIEWER'S CORNER:_

_Kat: Thanks, man. I really do intend to get back on your stories sometime this century._

_Texray: Appreciate it! Better read the other chapters to find out who all these people are._

_Flashpoint: I really couldn't find a good way to end that without ruining a scene I want to use in this arc, so I wimped out and just started anew._

_Mosin: Mimi's going to be a big part of this story arc, so she'll be around. That may not be a good thing…_

_Noveltigger: Thank you very much._

_FraserMage: You're right on about the timeline. At this moment, Kurita knows the Smoke Jaguars and Nova Cats are coming (thanks to a certain undercover Precentor on Terra!), and the Dragoons and Kell Hounds are in the midst of showing up in Luthien space._

_Bien: Thanks for letting me borrow, well, you! (You, or your fictional counterpart, is in this chapter.)_

_SulliMike: Maybe, but does Sheila think so? Read on…_

_MUSIC CORNER: I'm thinking "Only You" by the Flying Pickets for Tooriu and Elfa, "Don't Speak" by No Doubt for Bien and Felisanna (uh oh), "Yurika's Theme" from _Martian Successor Nadesico _for Philip and Tessya, and "It Don't Come Easy" by Ringo Starr for Sheila and Max. _

* * *

_Sun Zhang Academy—Kagoshima College of Technology_

_Kagoshima, Pesht District, Draconis Combine_

_25 December 3051_

Tooriu Kku leaned back in the narrow bed and smiled hugely. Sheila had thought that only one person was still enjoying themselves on Operation Rubicon—Senefa Malthus—but she might've expanded that to two, because Tooriu was enjoying himself immensely.

Tooriu was not insensitive, and had cried at the memorial service for the fallen Snowbirds, some of whom were childhood friends. Yet the losses did not take away from the excitement of the war. Being killed was terrible, but that happened to _other_ people, not him. As far as Tooriu was concerned, the only thing better than a hot woman and a cold beer was the sight of watching Clanners fall back before his _Awesome_, as they often did. Tooriu had been an American rules football and rugby player at the Nagelring; war, he had found, was a lot like that. You could always tell when the other team was ready to pack it in. Tooriu liked nothing more than to hand arrogant players their heads—he was proud to have flattened Sanglamore Military Academy's star running back on several occasions—and the Clans were the most arrogant players of all. When he wasn't fighting, it was time to hang out with the guys and the gals in the barracks, which he found was a lot like the dorm he had lived in back at the Nagelring. He drank beer (which didn't need to be smuggled in), watched movies, cracked jokes, threw wild parties, did childish things. And the girls. Girls liked athletes, but they _loved_ MechWarriors.

Tooriu had never had a problem with the opposite sex. At six foot five inches and 240 pounds by the old Davion imperial system, and all muscle with a ready grin and an aw-shucks manner, he was irresistible. He had never lacked female companionship from puberty on, and as he lay in the narrow bed that was such like the one he had back at the Nagelring, he thought about the women he had been with. There had not been nearly as many as he boasted, but enough that most men might find themselves envious. Certainly a few of the Snowbirds could look on him with more than an appreciative smile. Bagging Mimi Stykkis had been no great achievement; she had been somewhat loose with her affections. Sheila Arla-Vlata was a different story: aloof and gawky, most guys didn't want her and thought her frigid. Tooriu knew better, and confirmed his suspicions on their third date, when Sheila had attacked him: underneath her cool exterior was insatiable fire. If anything, Sheila was _too_ enthusiastic; when she had tearfully broken off the relationship for fear of what her parents would say, Tooriu was actually glad of the fact, and so was his lacerated back, sore groin, and dorm room neighbors who complained of the noise. He felt absolutely no jealousy about Sheila's marriage to Max, and had to smother his grins when Max arrived at staff meetings looking exhausted. He wished Sheila would smile more like she used to, however.

No, Tooriu was not jealous of Max whatsoever, because he had found the woman he wanted. He didn't know what it was about Elfa Brownoak that excited him so. She was a damn good looking woman, the other guys in the Snowbirds admitted, but she was also twenty years his senior. Not that it mattered to Tooriu. Sheila, the other girls, and even Mimi were fumbling amateurs, lovably so, but still inept teenagers compared to Elfa. She was certainly more experienced, but while sex with the others had been a competition, a race, with Elfa it was different. Better. One day, he had realized what that probably meant—he was in love. Which was okay. And when Elfa turned up pregnant, that was okay too. He liked children, Elfa always wanted to have them, so what could possibly be wrong with that? Tooriu took what life gave him with cheerful grace, and if Elfa was a much older woman, so what? They had fun, they loved each other, and that was what counted.

He heard the keypad being punched on the door, and the object of his affections walked in—though Elfa would have probably used the term waddled. She was six months along and was ballooning; the ever-resourceful Nicia Caii had altered her uniforms to fit, since the Snowbirds didn't exactly issue maternity wear. Tooriu sat up. "Heya, babe. Everything okay?"

Elfa hung up her coat, walked over, and sat heavily on the bed. "Yeah, everything's fine, Tooriu. Just…whoof…tired." She lay her head in his lap. "I feel like I just came off a 20 kilometer road march with a 20 kilo field pack."

"Is the kid okay?" That was the one of the two things Tooriu worried about.

Elfa smiled. Once the Snowbirds were settled in, her first stop had been the nearest obstetrician. "Kids, plural. They're fine."

Tooriu blinked. "Plural?"

"Yes, silly. We're having twins."

He took a deep breath. "Whoa."

"Changes things, doesn't it?"

"Nope. Not a thing." He leaned down and kissed her. Tooriu took what life gave him, and so did Elfa.

* * *

Another door closed in the dorm, halfway down the hall from Tooriu and Elfa. "_Magandang hapon,_" Felisanna greeted Bien Canonizado.

"Good afternoon yourself," Bien replied, walking into the room. "Are you feeling better?"

"I guess." Felisanna had caught a cold that had spread like wildfire around the _Minerva_, which only added to her misery. "A little bit," she amended.

"You were missed at the staff meeting."

"Oh, they actually said something about me?" Felisanna snapped bitterly. "I'm surprised. Who said it?"

"The Commander."

"Oh. Well, figures she would notice." Her tone softened a little.

Bien sighed. This was becoming standard operating procedure. "Backrub?"

"You're a saint." She took off her shirt and lay on the bed. Bien sat down next to her and began kneading her shoulders. He noticed her hair was growing out well. Following the death of her mother, Felisanna had shaved off her mohawk down to stubble, and let all her hair grow. She still dyed it pink, but that was the limit to her rebellious nature. She had given up smoking, which Bien thought was a good thing, but also had given up associating with the Snowbirds except when necessary—the staff meeting had been voluntary--closing herself up behind a wall. It was if, Bien thought, Felisanna was serving penance for the missed time with Kaatha.

"There's a Christmas Eve get together tonight at the local bar," Bien said to fill the silence.

"So?"

"_So,_ I thought we should go."

"And have everyone avoid me? They think I'm a jinx, Bien. No thanks."

Bien sighed again. There was some truth to the statement, in that the Snowbirds for the most part avoided Felisanna. She figured it was because she was a jinx—an opinion Felisanna had of herself, actually--but the truth was that it was because she had given no reason for anyone to get close. She was morose at best and shrewish at worst, and the majority of the battalion had simply given up. A good number of them, such as Marion Rhialla, resented her. No one blamed her for Kaatha's death, but they certainly blamed her for making the last weeks of her mother's life miserable.

Bien abruptly halted his backrub. "You need to stop this."

"Stop what?"

"Stop feeling sorry for yourself."

"Oh sure, Bien. I treated my mom like shit, and now she's dead. The rest of the battalion thinks I'm a shallow bitch—hell, they probably wish _I_ was dead instead of Mom. She had the respect. I've got nothing. Everyone thinks I'm a crybaby just because I can't be like Sheila!"

"Like Sheila?" Bien was taken aback at that. So far, besides himself, Sheila had been the only one spared Felisanna's ire.

"Yeah. You notice she didn't cry at the ceremony? Even Max teared up a bit. The only people who didn't cry was Sheila and Senefa. I understand why Senefa didn't cry—she's a Clanner. I understand why Sheila didn't too—she's the CO. She can't cry. But I can't be like her, Bien. I have _plenty_ to feel sorry for myself about."

Bien stood up and grabbed his jacket. "Where are you going?"

"Out."

"But…you're not going to stay with me?"

"No. There's too much on my mind. I'm sorry."

Felisanna unclasped her bra. "I make a pretty good distraction."

"No. That's your problem. _You_ want to be distracted." His hand stopped on the doorknob. "There's a hole inside you, Felisanna. Until you learn how to fill it up, I'm nothing more _than_ a distraction." He left, closing the door behind him.

* * *

Marion Rhialla checked herself in the mirror, then finished combing her hair out. "Hm," she mused aloud. "Not bad." She ran her hands down the sides of her uniform, glad that, despite being nearly fifty, she still wore the same size as she had when she was thirty. She had been tempted to go out in full uniform, medals and all, to give the Kuritans something to be angry about, but since this was just an informal Christmas Eve get-together at the bar, she went with just her regular uniform.

The door opened and closed, admitting Maysa Bari, who hurtled by her adopted mother, tossed a pair of ice skates aside, flung open her traveling case, and began frantically searching for her dress uniform. "Hi, Maysa."

"Hi, Mom!" Maysa threw off her coat and gloves, kicked off her boots, and rapidly unbuttoned her blouse.

"Where's the fire?" Marion asked, wondering if she should wear makeup or not.

"I don't want to be late for church. Christmas Eve Vigil, Mom. I can't miss it."

Marion checked her watch. "You've got two hours, Maysa."

"Yeah, but it's gonna be packed, and I don't want to be late." Maysa slipped on the top of her dress uniform and began to zip it up.

"I doubt it's going to be packed. We're on a planet that's ninety percent Buddhist." Marion spotted something and barked out, "Halt!"

Maysa instinctively froze. "What is it?"

Marion took two steps forward, then jerked back the collar. Her finger stabbed at her neck. "Mind explaining why you have a hickey, young lady?"

"It's not…" Maysa caught her reflection in the mirror, saw that her face was bright red, and knew there was no escaping it. "Okay…it is."

"Ah ha. Mass doesn't start for another two hours, but the local padre is having Confession first. _That's_ why you're in a hurry." She pointed to Maysa's pants. "Drop those."

Maysa did as she was ordered, since she was wearing heavy winter-issue pants and not her dress uniform skirt, and had to change anyway. "What are you doing, Mom?"

"Checking for blood."

Abruptly, Maysa realized what Marion was referring to. "Good heavens, Mom! Okay, okay…maybe we did a little n-n-necking, but that's all! Dan is a gentleman!" She kicked off the pants and put on her skirt. "I can't believe you did that!"

"Uh huh. A gentleman who leaves hickeys. Did he get your top off too?"

Maysa whirled on her, eyes blazing. "Yeah, Mom, he did. On the tram. We got it on right there in front of everyone." She cocked an eyebrow at Marion. "There's other ways to have sex, Mom, besides from the front firing arc."

Marion was stunned. "You're…you're not serious."

"Of course I'm not serious!" Maysa actually stomped her foot in frustration. "We were sitting over in the corner at the ice rink, and we started kissing…and we got a little hot and heavy. Dan broke it off and apologized. He saw me home, and yeah, I was going to go to Confession for it. But you know what? Now I'm not! Because there wasn't anything wrong with it!" She threw her hands in the air. "I come home with _one_ hickey and you think I'm having sex all over the place!"

"Well…" Marion felt foolish. "I mean…he _is_ a guy…"

"Yeah, and I'm a woman! That's how it works, Mom. _I_ started it, not him. Women do that nowadays, you know. Maybe they didn't do it that way back in the Bronze Age when you—"

Now it was Marion who lost her temper, and she slapped Maysa. "Don't you talk to me like that, Maysa Bari! You're not a woman yet!"

Maysa rubbed the side of her cheek and turned away, but she didn't back down. "I'm not? What's the qualification? First period? First sex? How about first killing? Because heaven knows I've done plenty of that!" She grabbed her boots and stormed out of the door, slamming it behind her.

* * *

Tessya Blackthorn shut off the paint gun and took off her mask, admiring the new kill mark against her paint job. "Well, Little Bird," she addressed her 'Mech softly, "we're still doing okay." The 20-ton _Wasp_ looked like an afterthought against the heavy and assault 'Mechs that surrounded it, but she loved her Little Bird nonetheless. Amazingly, it had come through the battles on Mozrije, Harvest, and New Caledonia with only a bit of internal damage and a cracked lower leg actuator, which had been easy to repair. One and a half 'Mech silhouettes had added to the four she already had, along with thirteen smaller Elemental figures. That too seemed paltry compared to the rows on Sheila's _Shruiken_, Marion's _Perennium,_ Max's _Battlemaster, _or Maysa's _Rifleman._ But her job was scouting, not shooting, so she was proud of her record nonetheless.

"Tessya!" The shout drew her attention to the floor, where she saw Philip Scott. She climbed down the ladder and nearly slipped on the last rung, but Philip was there to steady her.

"Hi," she said, somewhat lamely.

"Hi," he returned, also awkwardly.

"Going to the service tonight?"

Tessya thought for a moment. She and God had not been on the best of terms, not since a tornado had swept through her town on Terra and wiped out all of her family except for three cousins and her little sister Danielle. "No, Phil, I'm going to skip it. They're having some sort of Christmas party at the local dive tonight; I'll probably go to that."

"Okay. Mind if I join you?"

"Not at all." He followed her out of the 'Mech bay, after she checked in her paint gun and mask. The local Kuritan techs were indifferent to the Snowbirds, but they were not hostile. The battalion had steered clear of the local Sun Zhang cadets, who shared their commander's disdain for mercenaries; Sheila and Nakamura had decided that it was best if they stayed separate while the Snowbirds were on Kagoshima. Tessya wasn't surprised the outside air to be a little crisp, but she hadn't expected it to be snowing. It was a pretty thin snowfall, just a few flakes glittering in the weak sunlight, but still lent a Christmas feel to the air. Philip was silent, but she could tell he was admiring her out of the corner of one eye, which she didn't mind. Still, after a few minutes of this, she had to say something. "Take a holo, it'll last longer."

"Sorry."

She smiled back at him. "No, you're not."

"You're right." Philip looked up at the clouds. "Tessya, I had wanted to hold off on this longer, but I guess I'm not gonna."

She nodded. "That wasn't just a one-night stand for either of us back on New Caledonia."

"No."

Tessya stopped and sighed. The two of them had been dating off and on since the summer, started by Philip simply coming up to her one day at the officers' club and buying her a drink. Tessya knew she was quite attractive, and certainly didn't mind dating and flirting every now and then, but the thing that turned her off the most was when men started stuttering and falling all of themselves when trying to get serious, assuming they even got past the asking-out stage. Philip had been different, and had talked straight up. When he wanted to ask her out, he did so clearly and affably, as he did everything else. It had not taken much convincing to get her to sleep with him in the woods on New Caledonia, as she was scared despite herself and didn't want to be alone. Then again, Philip was a lawyer as well as a MechWarrior; being glib was his job.

Still, she liked him, and had caught herself looking for him across the battlefield, and had sought him out on the _Minerva_ during the long transit. They had still spent a lot of time together. She found herself being able to open up to him like she had never done before with anyone else, not even her sister, who was a cadet at Sanglamore. In turn, he had shared some of his fears. She liked the intimacy, and liked even more that he had not pushed the issue. She had known other fast talkers in her 27 years, and generally suspected at first that Philip was merely trying to manuever her into another session between the sheets. But they had not made love once since New Caledonia, and she found herself feeling a little sorry about that. "So," she said, deciding to test him, "where do we go from here? Back to my room? Or yours?"

"If you want," Philip said smoothly, "but out here will do just as well. Better, even."

A blush shot into her cheeks. "Uh…what? It's…kind of public, don't you think?" They were on a hill overlooking the Sun Zhang campus, and there wasn't a tree for kilometers.

He suddenly realized what she meant, and laughed. "That's _not_ what I was talking about, Tessya."

"What, then?"

He reached into a back pocket, went down on one knee, and opened the little box. Inside shimmered a ring mounted with a single gleaming diamond. "Tessya Blackthorn, will you marry me?"

Tessya felt her head swim, and actually had to get down on her knees to keep from passing out. "Are…are…are you serious?" she stammered.

"Damn right I am." His eyes fixed on hers. "Tessya, you know I'm not some noob like Dan Pollycutt when it comes to relationships. I've been around. But I have never, _ever_, met another girl—woman—like you. We're both MechWarriors. We know everything about each other, including in the biblical sense. I can't think about spending the rest of my life with anyone else, and I don't want to."

She looked down at her knees, feeling tears run down her face. "It's…kind of sudden…"

"I know. It's not because we're in a war zone or anything. I was going to wait until tonight, when we were around everybody, but you know what? I like it better this way." He closed the box. "It can wait, Tessya. I know it's pretty sudden. If you want to give it some thought or be alone, I can wait."

Tessya did give it some thought. About a minute's worth. "Phil…Philip…I'd…I'd love to marry you."

The tone in her voice threw him off a little. "But..?"

She smiled up at him, wiping away her tears on the back of her hand. "But nothing. I'll marry you, if you'll marry me." He opened the box again, took her hand, and slipped the ring on. It was a perfect fit. "Oh, dammit," she sniffled, "I always cry when it comes to weddings."

* * *

"Shasti?" Sheila asked when they arrived at the door of the church. "What are you doing here? I didn't think you were Catholic."

"I'm not," the tanker said with a smile. She wore full uniform tonight, which hid all but the tattoo around her right eye, but her hair was still a wild mix of white and black. "But I am a Christian, and it is Christmas, and this is the only show in town." She winked at Sheila. "I'll try not to be _too_ much of a heretic."

Sheila laughed at that one. She had been feeling a little better; sleeping in a real bed without having to strap themselves in, as they had on the DropShip. She and the other Snowbird officers had met with Nakamura, who had assured them that, whatever his personal opinions, Satoridon wouldn't interfere in the Snowbirds' rest and refit period. The locals had also been "instructed" to treat the Snowbirds fairly, though Sheila was uncomfortable with the idea that the Kurita state police—known ironically as the Friendly Persuaders despite their Inner Sphere-wide reputation for brutality—was basically ordering the people of Kagoshima to be nice or else. The cadets had been told for now to steer clear of the Snowbirds as well. Nakamura had been the epitome of kindness and charm, and Sheila was glad to have at least one friend there.

She and Max had decided to come to midnight Mass in full uniform. She thought he looked very dashing in his dress uniform with cape and medals, and he thought that she pretty much glowed under the soft sodium lights of the street. The snowfall had increased just enough to dust the ground with white, and the temperature just enough to be pleasantly cold without being miserable. It felt, well, like Christmas.

They and Shasti went inside, and Max couldn't resist a low whistle. Queen of Peace was the name of the parish, and it was not an exceptionally large church, not at all ostientatious on the outside; then again, when the state religions were Shinto and Buddhism, it did no good for Christians to flaunt their beliefs, which was tolerated but not particularly encouraged in the Draconis Combine. Indeed, Queen of Peace was Roman Catholic, because the New Avalon Catholic sect was banned in the Combine, as it was the primary religion of their old enemies, House Davion's Federated Suns. Both Sheila and Max, raised in the Lyran Commonwealth, were Roman Catholics, though Sheila knew of a few New Avalons in the Snowbirds.

If the outside was plain, the inside was not. It was constructed as a Gothic cathedral, with soaring columns and high ceilings. The entrance was flanked by a reproduction of Michelangelo's _Pieta_ and an old-style closed confessional. The altar looked to be carved out of a single slab of granite, and it was surrounded by paintings. Kagoshima was, like most Kurita worlds, devoted to war: either the study of it at Sun Zhang or the supply of it by the extensive rice fields and timbered mountains. Despite Queen of Peace's name, the paintings flanking the nave reflected Kagoshima's purpose: one depicted David standing over a slain Goliath, while the other was Joan of Arc, sword raised. Although the heroic painting behind the altar was of the Resurrection of Jesus, the painter had managed to make it look simutaneously triumphant, which Sheila thought entirely appropriate, and militaristic, which she thought was a little out of place. The only nod to the church's actual name was an ornate statue of Mary the Mother of Jesus beneath the painting of Joan of Arc.

"Commander Arla-Vlata?" Sheila looked around at the sound of her name, and found herself staring down at a much older, bald man. The top of his head was level with her chest. He stuck out a hand rather than bowed. "Father Wielkosc. A pleasure to meet you."

"The pleasure is mine, sir," Sheila responded.

"Don't call me 'sir,'" he laughed. "I work for a living." He waved his hand around the church. "Do you like our little parish here?"

"Pretty impressive for a small place," Max commented.

"We're the only Catholic church on Kagoshima," Wielkosc replied, "so perhaps we compensate too much." He noticed Sheila's artificial arm. "I see you've been around the block a few times." He held up his left hand, which was missing two fingers; the arm was covered in old scars. "Halstead Station in '14. Inferno round into the cockpit." Both Sheila and Max involuntarily blanched. "I had to leave the DCMS after that, and entered the seminary."

"You were a MechWarrior?" Sheila asked.

"Oh yes. 4th Dieron Regulars. Most of us old priests these days are former soldiers, especially in the Combine. Now we try to restore what we once tried to tear apart." He nodded at the congregation. "Good turnout tonight, but it always is for Christmas. That's the nature of things, I suppose." Sheila and Max said nothing to that, embarrassed; they were not regular churchgoers either. Wielkosc seemed to sense that and smiled. "Better late than never, Commander. It's good to have you here."

"You don't mind mercenaries?" This from Shasti, who had been hovering near Max's shoulder.

"I'm a samurai for God, Miss Buena," he told her, reading the nametape on her uniform, "and as such I realize that we are all equal in His sight. Does it matter to God whether or not we serve for country or for pay? You are on the side of the right, and as long as you do not demand excessively or steal and be satisfied with your pay…that is all that matters."

"I don't feel that way sometimes," Sheila said quietly.

"You are here to fight the Clans?"

"Sure."

Wielkosc clapped a surprisingly wiry hand on her shoulder. "Then you are on the side of the right. Is something bothering you, Commander?" She nodded. "Then you are in the right place. Be at peace here, and rest." He gave her one last shoulder squeeze, smiled at them, and went off to get ready.

"Sounds like good advice," Max mused. He gently took Sheila's hand and led them to a pew. Both knelt and made the Sign of the Cross before getting in and sitting down. Shasti awkwardly emulated them, but went to the other side of the aisle.

Sheila looked around as they waited for Mass to start. The church was full, and there were a disproportionate number of white and blue Snowbird uniforms, though there were a smattering of white and red dress and brown working DCMS uniforms as well. Sheila found herself counting noses, seeing who was here. Frederick Matria was there, as was Fabian Cynmar and Michael Vragel. That didn't surprise her, as she knew they were Catholics. Nor was it a surprise to see both Maysa Bari and Daniel Polycutt, though she was not her usual bouncy self—she looked rather melancholy, actually, and Polycutt had put a protective arm around her, which she didn't seem to mind. The Drakon twins, Robert and Betsy, had volunteered as ushers, mainly because they were the only other Snowbirds besides Kahvi Falx that spoke both English and Japanese fluently. Sheila was somewhat surprised to see Peter Nicholas there, because she knew he was Eastern Orthodox, and very surprised to see Cecilia Masterson, who had never shown any inclination towards religion as long as Sheila had known her. Then again, Cecilia had not been her usual self either since Kassy Holliday's death on New Caledonia. Nicia Caii was also there, in clean fatigues, though she sat in the back, both because her towering height would block people's view of the altar, but also because she was on call; the techs didn't take Christmas Eve off and were overhauling 'Mechs. Finally, Nisa Kinosh had taken up position behind Sheila, and while she had left her submachinegun at home, next to her was her collapsible naginata. Nisa had designated herself Sheila's bodyguard while they were on Kagoshima.

It was good to see so many at church, but it bothered Sheila to see how many were missing. Some were dead since last Christmas, on Vantaa or New Caledonia; Sheila acutely missed Kaatha, who despite not being Catholic would have certainly attended Christmas service. Felisanna was nowhere to be found, but that wasn't surprising, since Bien was gone as well. She missed Senefa as well, but Senefa was at best agnostic: Clan training left little room for religion of any kind, aside from the Clan itself. The Clanswoman had shown interest in attending Mass to see what it was all about, but her interest was history, not faith, and she had gone to the party instead. Ariel Munroe, who was quietly every bit as pious as Maysa, was also gone, still in the hospital in intensive care. So many were gone. Sheila felt her own melancholy threatening to creep back on her, and even Max's reassuring hand on hers could not dispel it, nor could _Gloria in Excelsis Deo,_ her favorite Christmas hymn.

Father Wielkosc was dressed resplendently in holiday vestments and he spoke in a clear baritone, first in Japanese, then in English, welcoming the Snowbirds to their parish. Following the Sign of the Cross and the beginning of Mass—each said twice in the two languages—Wielkosc invited the congregation to reflect on any sins they might have committed. As she had since she was a little girl, Sheila bowed her head, closed her eyes, and prayed silently. _Oh God, please forgive me for what I have said and done on campaign. Please forgive me for taking the lives of other people, especially Duke Bonner. Please forgive me for not keeping everyone in my battalion alive…_

Without warning, Sheila began to cry. It hit her like a rogue wave, wrecking the reserve she had kept since they had left Sudeten, because while God might forgive her, she could not forgive herself. Abruptly, she pushed past Max into the aisle and dashed for the door. Max never hesitated; he was out of the pew and following her in a second, putting a hand out to keep Kinosh from following them.

There was silence in the church for a moment, then Wielkosc cleared his throat loudly and continued with the Mass.

Sheila sat on the steps of the church. Max sat next to her. "What is it, babe?"

She shook her head, unable to stop crying, and just buried her face in his shoulder. She knew this was stupid: none of the deaths on New Caledonia or Vantaa were her fault, except the Clansmen she had fought, and Bonner, and both of them had been trying, directly or indirectly, to kill her. No one blamed her for that. But still she could not stop sobbing. _And why not?_ she told herself. _They were my people. They deserve to be cried over._ So she cried for Kaatha, for Kassy, for Bob, for all of the Snowbirds, because alive or dead, they were all irrevocably changed by a war that was never supposed to happen.

For his part, Max draped his cape around her, held her close, and let her cry, rocking her gently as the snow fell around them.


	3. Season's Greetings

_AUTHOR'S NOTES: Had a little extra time today and banged out another chapter. Enjoy the humor in this one; there won't be a lot more in this chapter. The reference to the PPC drink comes from _Warrior: En Garde, _and I take no responsibility for what happens if you actually try to drink one. The reference to the crucified Santa Claus is something that actually happened to a friend of mine when he visited Japan over the holidays, and though there's a thousand bars named the Elbow Room (including one in my home town, though that one's named the Iron Horse), I got the idea from watching yet another episode of _Deadliest Catch.

_Brief notes for those of you not familiar with Japanese terms: sempai refers to an upperclassman, while shojo manga is that intended for teenage girls—like _Sailor Moon _or anything by the CLAMP collective. Don't ask me how I know this stuff; I'm a teacher. _

_Also, I kind of screwed up continuity in the last chapter and in this one. Originally, they were supposed to take place on Christmas Eve, but I forgot that the Snowbirds got to Kagoshima on Christmas Eve. Oh well._

_REVIEWER'S CORNER:_

_Mosin: I was a bit worried that the scene with Maysa and Marion might be gross (with Marion checking Maysa's panties for virginal blood), but then again, Marion's very forward. It will indeed be interesting. Thanks as always._

_Texray: Thanks! Unfortunately, this is the second to last chapter before I finish up the Snowbird Saga. Every beginning has an end, as the Wachowski brothers would say…_

_Rogue: I don't know if the Clans celebrate Christmas. FASA and Catalyst have been pretty ambigious about Clan religion. I'm going to assume they know of the holiday, but warriors don't celebrate it—it would be okay for freebirths, but trueborns have better things to do. Incidentally, I got the idea for this walking home from midnight Mass one year. It was pretty cold, and I remembered the guys of the 101st Airborne at Bastogne, and the idea that the same thing might happen to the Snowbirds came to mind._

_Bien: I _thought _I had seen that Sun Zhang had something at Kagoshima. Thanks. As far as Thanksgiving goes, no, I won't be writing anything about that. The Snowbirds would've just come off of New Caledonia and it would be too depressing to write. (I'm guessing that, since Thanksgiving has at least made its way to Canada and, I think, Japan, the Inner Sphere would celebrate it.)_

_SulliMike: Yep. A little bit about that in this chapter._

_MUSIC CORNER: I was listening to "Explosion" from the _Project A-ko _soundtrack, the "FedNet March" from _Starship Troopers, _"Binary Sunset" from _Star Wars, _and "I Want to Know What Love Is" by Foreigner._

* * *

_Kagoshima City, Kagoshima_

_Pesht District, Draconis Combine_

_25 December 3051_

The bar was called the Elbow Room, and despite that somewhat ambigious name—Marion Rhialla knew of a hundred bars in the Inner Sphere with the same name—it was actually a rather pleasant place. The Sun Zhang campus on Kagoshima may have been a military college, but it was still a college, and bars had sprung up in its shadow very quickly. Cadets were not allowed into Kagoshima City without a pass, but Sun Zhang had wisely decided that its cadets were going to drink, and allowed them to do so—though showing up for formation or class drunk invited public whipping or ritual suicide.

The interior was warm and well-lit with neon signs of various Inner Sphere beers and a few holoscreens playing either soccer games, movies, or Solaris gladiator matches, though technically the latter was illegal in the Combine. Though Christmas was a Christian holiday, the Combine still celebrated it to a certain extent, though how they did so could be bizarre; the BattleMech with the Santa hat was strange enough, but Marion remembered seeing one display in Kobe, the Kuritan quarter of Solaris VII, where they had erected a crucified Santa Claus. The place was crowded, mostly with red uniforms with white piping, the cadets left behind on Kagoshima with a winter break and nothing better to do.

"Maybe we shouldn't be here," David Moore said to Marion. "There's a lot of Snakes in here."

"Keep your voice down," she told him, "otherwise there's going to be a lot of Snakes _out_ here." Marion scanned the bar and found someone not wearing the cadet uniform, but the duty brown uniform. "Wait here. I'll scope out the territory."

"I'll come with you," David offered.

"Kid, I've been in more bar fights than days you've been alive," Marion told him, and went into the bar, mad at Moore but realizing her anger was displaced at being reminded in the second time today how old she was. Conversation noticeably dipped as she walked in, but no one said anything directly to her.

The Kurita officer was a _Sho-sa_, a Major, like herself, with a scarred face. They sized each other up for a moment. "What can I do for you, Major Rhialla?" he asked with a gravelly voice.

"My guys and gals would like to come in for a few drinks. I don't want a fight."

"This isn't the only bar open tonight."

"No, but it's the only one big enough to hold all of us." She pointed at the huge metal plate that took up a good portion of the wall behind the bar. "That's 'Mech armor, which tells me this is a MechWarrior bar."

"It is." He looked around, gave it some thought, and nodded. "All right, Major Rhialla. As long as your troops behave themselves, we should have no problem."

Marion almost snapped back that if there was going to be a problem, it was likely to come from the cadets, but let the comment pass. "Thank you, _Sho-sa._" She waved back at Moore. "Buy you a drink?"

"I don't drink with hireswords, but…" He grinned with a smile made up mostly of false teeth. "But this time I'll make an exception. It is, after all, Christmas." They moved through the common area towards the bar. "So, Major, ever fight against Kurita?"

"I was mostly with Liao, but I was on Crossing in '31, and some of us were on Altenmarkt during the Ronin Wars of '44."

The Kurita major raised an eyebrow. "Interesting. I was on Rubigen with the 6th Pesht in '44." He raised his fingers for two beers, and the two of them easily fell into MechWarrior shop talk. Behind them, the Snowbirds filed into the bar: David Moore, Eric Sykes, Natasha Tal, and Glynnis Griffin came in as one group, closely followed by the oldest men in the Snowbirds, Troms Fiordur and Alfred Dennison, then Marcus Drax and Bien Canonizado, who made up a morose pair of men. Senefa, Mimi, and Kahvi brought up the rear. Sheila had initially restricted Kahvi to the _Minerva_ for her own protection, but relented when she had learned the seniors and juniors were gone to Luthien; there was no one likely to know her from her time at Sun Zhang among the sophomores and freshmen. Just in case, Kahvi had feathered her makeup around her right eye in the Steiner fashion, rather than tracing it across and down her cheekbone like Kurita. The cadets followed them with their eyes and none spoke, but neither did they try to hinder the Snowbirds. Most of the latter found seats at the bar or in alcoves, though Mimi hobbled her way over to the movie screen. Conversation in the bar gradually picked up again, and both cadets and Snowbirds generally ignored each other, though those instructors present drifted over to the bar, where Marion and the major were now happily exchanging war stories.

* * *

Bien looked up to see Marcus Drax take a seat across from him. "What's up, guy?" Drax asked over his beer. "You shouldn't be drinking alone, not in this place."

"Not ever," Bien replied, glad of the company. He was thinking about Felisanna, and the temptation to stop thinking about her by drowning his sorrows in alcohol was getting hard to resist. From his slight weaving in the seat, Drax had obviously started his Christmas cheer a little early as well.

"Something on your mind, man?"

Bien looked up at Drax, hesitated, then chuckled. "Girl problems."

"Oh, yeah." Drax took a pull on his bottle. "Felisanna chuck you out or something?"

"You know about us?"

"Man, the whole battalion knows about you. There's no secrets on a DropShip. 'Course, you can't believe half of what you hear and the other half doesn't make any sense." He tipped the bottle towards Bien. "So what did you do?"

Normally Bien would have politely changed the subject, but beer and desperation made him open up. "I didn't _do_ anything. She didn't throw me out; I left. She's…" He sighed, and took a drink himself. "She's having trouble getting over her mother's death. I think she sees me as little more than a distraction, something to do to pass the time when she's not feeling sorry for herself. She thinks she's a jinx and the battalion hates her."

"Well, that's bullshit," Drax told him. "She's not a jinx. As far as the battalion goes, they don't hate her. Well, okay…there's a few that are pissed at her because she didn't treat her mom very nice, but I don't think anyone wants her out of the Snowbirds or anything. She fights and does her job, and as long as she does that, I don't think Sheila or anyone else has a problem with her. And if they do, fuck 'em."

"That's not a very good attitude to have, Marcus."

"Sure it is." He leaned forward. "Look, Bien. This is the tightest bunch I've ever been with. I'm not all that experienced, yeah, but we're family. Still, there's gonna be people who just don't get along. Hell, take a look at Mimi and Maysa. Maysa hates Mimi's guts and the feeling's mutual, and here Maysa is supposed to be a saint or something. Does it affect their job? Nope. Mimi does her job and Maysa does hers, and nobody cares about the other stuff. I think Chuck Badaxe is a stuck-up jerk, the Drakon twins are idiots, and Rhialla a dried-up bitch that needs to retire. But I'd take an AC/20 shell for any one of 'em, and they'd do it for me, because that's what being a family is all about. Should be, anyway."

"Hard lock and fire," Bien commented.

Drax clinked his bottle against Bien's. "Look, man. You gotta remember something about Felisanna. She fell in love with a guy who took her virginity when she was sixteen. He was an asshole and left her, but the thing was, she liked running with him. In her hoity-toity ultraconservative household, she was expected to keep her mouth shut and be Little Miss Perfect, going to church three times a day and do nothing but prepare for a life of having babies and making sure her hubby is satisfied, unless she became a MechWarrior, which her family really didn't want because they were MechWarriors and didn't want her to get killed. But this guy, he introduced her to booze and parties and fun stuff. She loved it. Underneath that black-coat, bonnet-wearing, quiet girl was a fuckin' tiger that had been caged too long.

"Problem is, Felisanna's a girl of extremes. She either goes 100 percent one way or the other. Before, she was all for her Puritan lifestyle. Then she sliced her hair and became a MechWarrior and went all techpunk. Now she's veering back the other way, because she feels like she let her mama down. Thing of it is, she hasn't. I was Kaatha's lancemate for a year, man, and I can tell you that Kaatha was proud of her little girl. Felisanna just wasn't listening, and Kaatha didn't know how to say it.

"What she needs, my man, is someone who's gonna be there for her. She don't need no swinging bachelor who's gonna to screw her and forget her, and she don't need someone who's gonna knuckle under every time she has the rag on. Felisanna needs someone who is going to be nice to her and treat her right, but not a doormat. She finds that kind of guy, and she'll have something to center herself on." He stabbed a finger at Bien. "I think you just proved you might be that guy."

Bien was stunned. "How did you know all that about her?"

Drax finished the bottle, signaled a barmaid for another, and shrugged. "Probably 'cause I'm the asshole who left her."

"You should go back to her," Bien said. "I won't interfere."

"Nope. She doesn't hate me for what I did, and I'm not gonna give her the chance to. Besides, I got my eye on Sergeant Shaw's gunner. Holy damn, she is hot. You seen her? She's gotta have the biggest tits in the Snowbirds, and that's saying something, considering all the well-endowed femmes we've got."

Bien knew a lie when he heard it. "Did Kaatha know about the two of you?"

"Never suspected, 'least as far as I know. Scared the hell out of me when Sheila assigned us to her own lance on Twycross and then kept us on with the Snowbirds. I figured Kaatha was going to put a PPC through the back of my head, but either she never found out or figured it was old news." He took the beer from the barmaid and tossed three C-bills on the plate. She turned to Bien. "Another beer, sir?"

"No more for him," Drax said before Bien could reply. "He's gotta get back to his girlfriend before she does something stupid and finds some other desperate dude." He nodded to Bien. "Get my drift, guy?"

Bien got up. "I think so. Are you always so eloquent?"

Drax held up the beer. "Give me a few more of these, and I'm fuckin' Shakespeare, man. Now get out of here." He turned to the barmaid. "So. What time do _you_ get off tonight?"

* * *

Mimi Stykkis walked to the bar and brought both hands down on Senefa's and Kahvi's shoulders. Luckily, Senefa had seen her coming, though Kahvi yelped in surprise. "Girls," Mimi said, "what's your pleasure?"

"What do you mean?" Kahvi answered.

"What'cha drinking?"

"Oh." Kahvi pointed at her cup. "A little sake."

"Just mineral water for myself," Senefa answered.

"Mineral water? I thought you Clanners were tough."

"We are," Senefa shot back, "we just do not believe in drinking ourselves insensible."

"Too bad," Mimi grinned. "You'd be a lot more fun." She waved until she got the bartender's attention. "Two Kurita PPCs for my friends here, a Marik for me, and buy that old bitch down at the end of the bar telling war lies a Dead ComGuard. Heck, pour you a little something yourself." She tossed a good handful of C-bills and Kurita currency on the bar, far more than necessary. The bartender didn't seem to mind and made the drinks with gusto. At Kahvi's and Senefa's questioning glances, Mimi beamed. "I just teached a bunch of Kurita cadets the secret of _mahjongg._ Namely, don't play it with Mimi Francoise Stykkis!"

"We're not supposed to be fraternizing," Kahvi said.

"It's not stopping Marion, so it's not stopping me."

The drinks arrived, and Senefa looked at it dubiously. "What exactly am I supposed to be drinking?"

"It's a PPC." Seeing Senefa still confused, Mimi sighed elaborately and explained. A PPC in its original state was simply half a glass of 98 proof alcohol. It was cut according to House: a Davion PPC was cut with whiskey, a Liao with plum wine, Marik with ouzo, Steiner with schnapps, and Kurita with sake. The resulting concoction hit like a PPC, hence its name. "The trick is to get it down before it numbs your tongue." She slapped their shoulders again. "Well, enjoy. Those dumbass cadets want to lose some more of their money, I see. You really should come over, ladies. There's a great war flick on."

"Oh?" Senefa was mildly interested in Inner Sphere war holos. Some she had found laughable, like the _Immortal Warrior_ series, but some, like _Wolves on the Border_ or _Saving MechWarrior Ryoko,_ had been very good. "What is it?"

"It's a remake of some ancient flatscreen. Sheila's dad would know which war it's about, but it's not too bad. A little hokey, though. 96 guys against four thousand. Yeah, right."

"What's it called?" Kahvi asked.

"_Zulu._ Anyway, you can also take some guys for their cash. Maybe even get a little Snake lovin', if you know what I mean. Get stinking rich both ways tonight." Kahvi blushed and looked away, while Senefa's face darkened for an entirely different reason, one that had to do with the imminent cessation of Mimi Stykkis' life functions. Mimi took the hint and went back to her alcove.

"You must excuse her," Kahvi offered. "MechWarrior Stykkis meant nothing by the sexual comment."

"She is suggesting prostitution," Senefa snapped.

Kahvi almost laughed. Senefa was probably the smartest person in the room, but her Clan upbringing, with its emphasis on proper speech, occasionally left her wide open to a literary blindsiding. She had no idea Mimi had simply meant gambling and a one-night stand. Feeling the need for a little liquid courage before delving into an explanation, Kahvi took a drink of the PPC. Its name was well-deserved: Kahvi gasped, coughed, and not only did her tongue go numb, so did her entire mouth.

At that point, one of the nearby cadets, who had just enough to take him over the line of common sense, said, "What's wrong, mercenary, can't take it?" Kahvi didn't want a fight and said nothing. Shrugging off his roommate, who was also afraid of a fight and the disciplinary action that would result, the cadet took a step forward. "I asked—"

"I heard what you said," Kahvi replied, turning halfway in her chair. "No, I can't take it, which is why I'm going to stop drinking it. Would you like the rest?" She held up the drink.

The cadet hesitated, unable to decide on whether she was threatening him or genuinely offering him a drink. Before he could decide, he was drawn aside by an officer in his early thirties, wearing the triple bars of a _Tai-i_, a captain. He stared at Kahvi for a moment, then pointed at her. "I know you."

Kahvi swallowed nervously and answered in Japanese from pure habit. "_Gomen nasai,_ I don't know—"

"Quiet. I recognize you. You went to this school. You went to Sun Zhang." Before Kahvi could say anything further, the captain nodded fiercely. "Yes, I remember you, Cadet Matsushima. Kimiko Matsushima."

"My name is Falx, Kahvi Falx," she protested.

"Then why does your Japanese have a Iruzun accent? Explain that!" Conversation ceased in the bar.

Glynnis Griffin detached herself from Marion's group and walked over. "We have a lot of people from all over the Inner Sphere—" she began, but the officer cut her off with a wave of his hand.

"She lies!" he shouted. "Matsushima, I always knew you would turn out wrong. You betrayed your father and you deserted your home, and became a hiresword! Mercenary scum!"

Senefa stepped between them, glaring at the Kurita officer. She read the nametape. "_Tai-i _Oshima," she informed him, "you have mistaken my friend for someone else. Please leave."

"Not without her!" He spit on the floor. "The rest of you mercenaries I can barely tolerate. But to see one of our own amongst you is an insult I cannot take!"

Kahvi's temper snapped and she leapt off the barstool. "An insult _you_ cannot take? What choice did you leave me, _sempai?_" She filled the word with pure venom. "You, who beat me for the slightest infraction, real or imagined? You, who sentenced me to silence for four years?" Her braids tossed angrily like the tentacles of an enraged octopus. "You wanted me to quit, but I would not! And then you ensured that I would never be assigned to a line unit fighting the Clans, but a Legion of Vega unit far from the front!" She smiled savagely at him. "I have been closer to the Clans than you will ever be, _Sempai!_"

"Silence!" He started forward, only to come up against Senefa. "Get out of my way, you money-grubbing peasant!"

Senefa's face did not change expression, but her right hand moved like a striking cobra. She slapped him hard across the face, and Oshima went to the floor of the bar. "I suggest you apologize," she said evenly. "Immediately."

He got up and took a step back—not out of fear, but for fighting room. "And if I do not?"

"I will have to hurt you."

Now Oshima smiled. "Is that a challenge, woman?"

Senefa smiled back. "Yes."

"Stop it, Oshima!" The Kurita major had finally gotten himself disentangled from the group at the end of the bar. Marion was beside him, but said nothing, because she was hoping she'd get to see Senefa take Oshima apart.

"She has challenged me," Oshima snarled. "By the honor of my family and the Sun Zhang Academy, I will not refuse a challenge!"

"She is not a citizen of the Combine! She is an inferior!" the major shouted back.

There was a great growl among the Snowbirds at that, and now Marion stepped forward and faced the major. "I won't tolerate that, Usagi-san. Senefa Malthus is a decorated MechWarrior who's got the most kills in the battalion." Marion briefly thought about mentioning her Clan heritage, but figured there would be enough trouble with Sheila and Satoridon as it was, because the cadets had started to form behind Oshima, while the Snowbirds were congregating near Senefa. This had the makings of a world-class brawl, which sounded like fun, except that someone might get killed. "She holds the same rank as the _Tai-i_ here. She's also fought the Jade Falcons and the Wolves and knocked off a Clanner Star Colonel on New Caledonia by her lonesome. She's no inferior."

"I meant no offense," Usagi replied honestly. "Under the rules of vendetta, they cannot fight because Miss Malthus is not from the Combine."

"Vendetta?" Senefa chuckled. "Nothing so formal, Major. If Captain Oshima wants to have a fight, all we need is twelve square feet of space. It need not be to the death, though if he should want that, I am prepared to do so, quiaff?" Luckily no one in the room recognized the Clan saying.

Oshima nodded. "I see no reason to seek this woman's death, but she slapped me. My honor must be restored."

Usagi sighed. "Very well. Clear a space. Whatever damage to the bar will come out of both your salaries."

"Fine," Oshima said, unbuckling his gunbelt, which held a needler.

"Bargained well and done," Senefa said formally, taking off her cape.

Tables and chairs were pulled back and the floor cleared of anything that might impede the combatants. Money quietly changed hands between cadets and Snowbirds, along with a few choice insults. Oshima got down in a judo stance and took a step forward, but Senefa merely stood in place, hands on her hips, a terrifying smile on her face. Oshima growled, but before either he could lunge or Senefa could, the still air was split by a distant siren. Then another. And another.

"What the hell's that?" Troms Fiordur wondered. "Some Snake Christmas tradition?"

"And we're a bit far from the frontier for an air raid," Dennison added.

"It's neither," Usagi said, blanching. "It's the siren for planetary invasion."

No one moved for a space of a few seconds, then everyone jumped as the telephone rang. The bartender instantly answered it—it was an old device, not a visiphone—and nodded once before hanging up. He was an old MechWarrior himself, old enough to remember Takashi Kurita's father. "Ladies and gentlemen," he said somberly, "that was a call from _Tai-sa_ Satoridon's command post. Cadets, report to your companies. Snowbirds, you are to report to Commander Arla-Vlata at the command post immediately."

"What's going on?" someone asked.

The bartender shook his head sadly. "There are Clan units inbound."

* * *

_Tai-sa_ Hector Satoridon thrust his katana and wakizashi into his belt and buttoned the collar of his dress uniform. Behind him, the command post was chaos as officers brought up orders of battle and plotted probable drop zones. A deep space radar on Kagoshima's most distant moon had detected the arrival of four unscheduled and unidentified JumpShips, which had immediately discharged several DropShips with fighter escort. No Kurita unit would arrive in such a manner, so it had to be enemy. Though he and what staff he had at the command post had agreed that they were probably Clan troops, he wondered if it wasn't perhaps Davion or Steiner. After all, the Snowbirds were already there. He tempered that, thinking that if Sheila Arla-Vlata's mercenaries were a fifth column, their commanders wouldn't be at church or hitting the town for Christmas. If they were Clansmen, he could expect some communication at any time: they would be asking what troops defended Kagoshima.

There was a commotion at the front door of the command post. Cursing, Satoridon headed down the short hallway and up the stairs, where four burly Friendly Persuaders were holding back not the expected crowd of civilians, but Sheila Arla-Vlata and several of her Snowbirds. Both sides relaxed on Satoridon's arrival. "What do you want?" he demanded of Sheila.

"Nakamura called me. Those are invasion sirens," Sheila told him.

"_Hai._ You have your clearance to leave Kagoshima." He made a visible effort to control his emotions. _Damned hireswords,_ he thought angrily to himself. _They just want their money._

"Leave, hell!" Sheila exclaimed. "You need our help!"

"Help? From mercenaries? Never! On my honor, never!" Satoridon shouted and turned his back on them. "Get them out of here!"

The policeman shoved Sheila back, but she yelled, "Your honor will kill every fighter on Kagoshima, _and_ their families! Is that what you want, _Tai-sa_? Another Turtle Bay?" Even the Friendly Persuader stopped at that.

He whirled on her. "This is not your fight, Arla-Vlata!"

"You're right. It's _our_ fight, _Tai-sa!_ Your cadets won't last more than five minutes out there without us!"

Satoridon pushed the policeman out of the way until he was standing nearly toe to toe with her. He dropped his voice. "Don't you think I know that? There's no way we can win this fight, Commander—you know that as well as I do. But we will die with honor. Your presence would sully our honor and take away our face as samurai." He stepped back. "Save yourself, Arla-Vlata, you and your battalion. Go and tell my lord that we died according to bushido."

Sheila shook her head. "I won't, Satoridon. Not when you _can_ win this battle." She put a finger in his face. "A samurai can only die once for his lord." Satoridon hesitated. "At least let me see what you're up against," Sheila smiled. "You're going to look pretty dumb preparing for death if they're only coming in with one Trinary."

Satoridon was silent for a few moments longer, then simply waved Sheila on. She followed him into the command post. "You seem remarkably changed," he commented, not looking at her. "One of my officers at the church reported you left in tears."

"I needed a good cry. Things…just got to me."

"I see." Strangely enough, from his expression, Sheila knew that Satoridon really _did_ see why she might need to do so. She reminded himself that he had twenty years on her, probably, and had seen war many times before. As for herself, she felt better after crying, and in any case, the Snowbirds—and Kagoshima, whether it wanted it or not—needed the fearless and indefatigable Commander Arla-Vlata, not the vulnerable and exhausted Sheila Arla-Vlata.

He said nothing more of it as they entered the command post. One of the officers, who looked older than Satoridon and similarly scarred, snapped to attention as they entered. "_Tai-sa…_" Seeing Sheila, he added, "Commander, the commander of the Smoke Jaguars is online. He wishes to speak with the commander of the planetary garrison."

"Put him on screen." Satoridon put his hands behind his back; Sheila put hers on her hips. The screen set into a corner of the CP crackled and came to life. There was static, and then the face of a man appeared. At first glance, Sheila thought him fairly handsome. He had coal-black hair and a neatly trimmed beard, and wore the natty all-gray Smoke Jaguar formal uniform. He looked somewhat surprised to see Sheila, but he nodded to both of them. "Good evening," he said formally. "I am Star Colonel Char Furey of the 17th Jaguar Regulars." His eyes flicked to Satoridon; Sheila noticed that they were such a dark brown that they might as well be black as well. "You are Colonel Hector Satoridon of the 1st Sun Zhang Cadre?"

"I am," Satoridon answered.

"And you are, miss?" Furey looked at Sheila.

"Commander Sheila Arla-Vlata of the Snowbirds Special Missions Combined Arms Team, Sentinels RCAT."

She expected some sort of reaction, but not necessarily the genuine smile that broke out on Furey's face. "Ah, the one who wreaked so much havoc on the Wolves. Which one of you commands here?"

Sheila noticed out of the corner of one eye that Satoridon's fists bunched behind his back. "I am the commander here, Star Colonel," the Kuritan said tightly.

"Good. I intend to take Kagoshima for the glory of Clan Smoke Jaguar. What forces defend this world?"

Evidently, Satoridon had rehearsed what he was going to say. "One battalion of BattleMechs of the 1st Sun Zhang is all I have of my command, Star Colonel—the other two battalions are on Luthien." His expression of anger did not change as he looked at Sheila. "Commander Arla-Vlata has one understrength combined arms battalion of tanks and BattleMechs. That is all we have to defend the world." Sheila kept her expression neutral, because Satoridon was lying. Kagoshima also had three regiments of militia, with their own infantry, armor, and artillery, plus a squadron of Mechbuster conventional fighters. She spoke up. "I also have a squadron of Aerofighters, Star Colonel."

Furey was evidently taking notes. "So—two battalions of effectives, plus a squadron of fighters. Interesting. I had expected militia, Colonel Satoridon."

"I am not pitting half-trained old men and boys against hardened warriors, Star Colonel. I would think you would wish to fight samurai." Another baleful glance at Sheila.

"And so I do. Very well, Colonel—Commander. I will commit two Trinaries of OmniMechs and a Binary of fighters to take your world. I shall be there in three days, and intend to make my landing at Greenfields. Will that be sufficient?"

"Not to take Kagoshima, it won't," Sheila said. "I think you'd better commit a lot more, Star Colonel. You're insulting me and Tai-sa Satoridon here." Satoridon's eyes widened, but Sheila just smiled. "I'd put in your whole Cluster at us if I were you."

Furey turned to her, his smile now brittle. Sheila noticed his right eye begin to twitch uncontrollably. "I wish to give you an even chance, Commander."

"So was I, Star Colonel." Sheila shrugged. "Erik Kerensky threw his whole Cluster at me and didn't beat us on New Caledonia. I'm disappointed in the Smoke Jaguars. I had no idea they held their opponents in such contempt. Two Trinaries of second-liners? Well, we'll be done by New Year's, anyway."

Furey was purple with rage. "And I expected more respect, Commander! Trueborn or no, you will regret your words! I will see your head on a platter by the end of this campaign!" The picture went black.

Satoridon turned to Sheila. "Have you gone _mad_? He's likely to throw everything he has at us now! All that talk of only dying once for your lord and foolish honor, and you practically dare him to murder us all!"

Sheila gestured at the screen. "I got under his skin, Tai-sa, and learned a little something about the man. If he had laughed at me or simply ignored me, that would tell me that he's an experienced warrior who knows I'm blustering. No, he's a young buck, maybe on his first time out commanding something. He wants glory, and he was hoping to get it on the cheap by fighting a bunch of cadets. I wonder if the rest of the Jaguars even know he's here."

"Of course they do," Satoridon retorted, but he was less strident than before.

"I wonder," Sheila repeated. "Practically all their frontline Clusters are heading for Luthien. The second-line guys are left out, and our Char Furey here is being left behind. So he decides to claim a bit of the pie himself. The Jags probably think Kagoshima's just defended by cadets—a nice, easy conquest that feathers Furey's career, maybe fast-tracks him for a better assignment than commanding a garrison unit."

"How do you know that? You're barely more than a child! How can you know so much about war?"

"I _know_ the Clans, Tai-sa. I was their prisoner for a month. I studied under Jaime Wolf on Outreach. My best friend, Senefa Malthus, is a former Jade Falcon. As for war, I've seen my share." Sheila held up the artificial arm.

"I withdraw my statement," Satoridon said. He looked at the blank screen for a moment. "You are sure they are a second-line unit?"

"Bet my rank on it."

"You're betting more than that." He nodded. "I suppose I should thank you then, Commander. That gives us a slightly better chance. We shall meet him at Greenfields." His tone brooked no argument. "If the Snowbirds will be part of the defense of Kagoshima, you will put yourself under my command, Miss Arla-Vlata. That must be understood. Is it?"

"Absolutely," Sheila agreed. It made sense; Satoridon knew Kagoshima, knew the ground, and a divided command would only cause problems. She wondered if she could serve under this man, though. Satoridon seemed a little too eager to kill himself for her taste. She knew there was a cultural gulf between herself and the Tai-sa that she might never cross. Kuritan warriors obeyed the law of bushido, the ancient Japanese way of the warrior. It seemed a simple code on the surface, but Sheila knew it was actually quite complex. One thing was certain, however: Satoridon and his warriors would never surrender themselves or Kagoshima willingly, assuming that the Smoke Jaguars were in a prisoner-taking mood, which they often were not. There were thirty different phrases for suicide in Japanese, and Sheila wondered if that was what Satoridon sought—perhaps to clear the dishonor of being left behind on Kagoshima, or for some other reason. While training cadets was not by any means dishonorable to her, Satoridon might feel differently; he might have been passed over for promotion to one of the more prestigious Kurita units, like the elite Sword of Light or Genyosha regiments.

"I am glad to hear that. You have three days to finish repairs to your unit."

"I have Dispossessed MechWarriors," Sheila added. "If you've got any spares…I hate to ask that."

"We do, and _that_ I do not mind providing. Mercenaries you may be, but I would not deny a MechWarrior a chance to ride into battle." He paused. "I was going to speak with you on a subject one of my officers brought to my attention earlier. Just before the Jaguars were detected, it seems one of your MechWarriors insulted one of mine. They had agreed to duel. Not necessarily to the death. This must be deferred until after the battle. If Oshima is still alive, and your Senefa Malthus…" His voice trailed off, as he made the connection. "She is Clan?"

"Ex-Clan. She defected earlier in the year."

"Then she understands what such a duel means?"

"Oh, sure. The Clans duel each other all the time." Sheila didn't feel like mentioning that Oshima was the one who didn't understand what he had gotten into.

"Good. Then the duel will continue if they live. It is a matter of honor. You agree?"

"Certainly." _Poor bastard,_ Sheila thought, feeling a twinge of remembered pain from her bout with Senefa.

He checked the chronometer. "Dismissed, Commander. We shall talk more in the morning. You should enjoy what is left of your Christmas…you deserve that, at least."

Sheila knew not to protest. She bowed to Satoridon. "Merry Christmas, Tai-sa. What's left of it." He returned the bow, gave the barest ghost of a smile, and she left.

When Sheila exited the command post, she found most of the Snowbirds there waiting. There were a lot of questions shouted in her direction and she raised her hands for silence. "Here's the deal," she told them. "The Smoke Jaguars are inbound with three Trinaries of 'Mechs. At least that's what this Char Furey has bid—he might have more. We're going to fight them along with the Sun Zhang cadets. Any objections?"

"Would it matter if there was?" Peter Nicholas asked.

"We can always leave," Sheila replied. Nicholas was still his same dour, contrary self.

Nicholas looked at his boots. "No, we can't do that," he sighed. "We can't just leave these people."

"You're damn right we can't," Marion Rhialla snapped at him. "We don't run away from fights." To Sheila, she asked, "What's the plan?"

"We'll talk about it tomorrow." Sheila didn't want to admit she didn't really have one yet. "For now, let's just get back to the dorms, celebrate what's left of Christmas, and get some rest. This Jaguar asshole won't be here for 72 hours. We'll finish fixing up our 'Mechs; Tai-sa Satoridon has promised to give us remounts for the Dispossessed. Officers' meeting at 0800 tomorrow, no excuses for absence." That was a subtle warning for no one to get drunk; the last thing she needed was hungover lance and company commanders. "Sorry about the lousy Christmas, people. Looks like we're back in the war. Dismissed." The crowd began breaking up. Most were heading back to the bar, eager to get in one last drink, the mood vastly different than before. Not all looked worried or scared: Senefa and Marion, for instance, looked rather excited.

* * *

Max had gone ahead back to their borrowed dorm room, figuring they were going to need to repack and get ready to move. The Sun Zhang Academy was indefensible. It was too big and too spread out, over what amounted to an open plain. Sheila hoped this Greenfields place was better, but had a feeling it wasn't; Furey wouldn't have chosen a drop zone that would be hard to get out of, unless he was a complete incompetent. He had a Bloodname, which inferred he wasn't, but then again, he was also commanding a second-line unit, which would be made up of older 'Mechs, maybe not even Omnis. The warriors would be freeborn, not members of the genetically-bred trueborns like Senefa, though they would not be any less deadly because they had something to prove. Still, that could be an advantage she could exploit, going against very young inexperienced warriors looking for glory or very old ones seeking an honorable death. Sheila turned over the situation in her mind as they rode from the CP to the dorms in a taxi, Nisa Kinosh sitting beside her and staying respectfully silent. Her own emotions were a turmoil. She was a seasoned warrior now, after New Caledonia, but since Sheila hadn't mentioned Elementals, Kinosh might be sidelined for this battle. She wasn't sure if she should be happy about that or sad; Satoridon and Senefa Malthus weren't the only ones with a keen sense of honor.

Kinosh left her at the dorm hall door and Sheila walked down the hall, surprised to find she was not tired at hall. She couldn't feel the same excitement Marion or Senefa had: Senefa was bred for it and Marion might as well be. Nonetheless, there was something curious that she did feel, an anticipation, even a thrill knowing she was going to be pitting her mind, experience, and training against another human being. Sheila knew glory was fleeting, and really the only thing winning on Kagoshima would mean for her personally was merely another chance to keep competing in the most dangerous game known to mankind, but still, the feeling was there. She had been depressed before, even despairing, but now, she felt very alive. Like Kinosh, she wasn't sure if she should be happy about that, or sad, or even afraid of what it might mean. She typed in the door combination and smiled; it was a lot like being back in the Nagelring. Even the slightly musty smell of the hallway reminded her of there. Certainly the room was no bigger—she hadn't been shown any preference for rank.

"Max?" Only the light above the desk was on. "Max, are you here?"

He stepped out from behind the door, which he closed behind her. "Right here." He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her deeply, then grinned and pointed above them. Mistletoe had been hung there. Cheap, plastic mistletoe, but mistletoe nonetheless. "Merry Christmas, Sheila."

"Merry Christmas, Max." She kissed him again, then put her head on his shoulder. "Not much of one. The Smoke Jaguars are coming with three Trinaries."

"They've got no sense of timing."

"Did you like your presents?" There hadn't been many, but they were stacked on the desk. They had hurriedly shopped for each other the day before: Max had gotten a few books, as had Sheila, who was acquiring a taste for translated manga. Kahvi Falx was a voracious reader of shojo manga, and bored with nothing to read on the _Minerva_, Sheila had started borrowing the Japanese woman's books. Max had also gotten Sheila an enormous stuffed polar bear, who currently engulfed the front of the bed. Even with gifts from a few of the other Snowbirds—including Senefa, who had found the idea of Christmas shopping to be a mixture of fascination (with the holiday) and disgust (for the rampant use of money which she, like most Clanfolk, disdained)—it was a modest haul, and Sheila knew if her younger, ten-year old self could see it, that little girl would be sorely disappointed. Most of their available money had gone to buying Louisa a treasure trove of gifts she could not get in the Federated Commonwealth—manga, stuffed animals, a kimono. Now Sheila wondered if Louisa would ever get them at all. Marion was right, though: there was no question of running. Kagoshima had daughters too.

"Of course I did." He held her close. "Just wish I could make all this go away, babe."

"You can…for a little while." She took off her cape, unbuckled her belt, and leaned back on the bed. "I think you've got one more present to unwrap."

"That's the corniest line I've ever heard," Max chuckled, but he got to the unwrapping with gusto nonetheless.


	4. Choose Your Ground

_AUTHOR'S NOTES: Well, here's another chapter. This is easier than I thought, which means I'm about to run into a creative wall. Next up is a BATTLE! Yay. (Kat Wylder is so much better at writing fight scenes than I am…)_

_There might've been some confusion when I said last chapter was the next to last chapter. I meant that _Snowbird's Last Stand _is the next to last __**story arc**__. Depending on who survives this one, they get to go on to the last story arc, and whoever survives that one survives the whole thing. I will be putting in an Epilogue that talks about all the survivors of the Sentinels and the Snowbirds, plus I intend on a very quick and dirty chapter that brings the story up to the "current" Battletech event, the Word of Blake Jihad. Sorry about any confusion. At the rate I'm going, I'll be lucky to finish this thing by next summer._

_And because I like throwing in obscure references, I did lift a little from _Gettysburg _and _The Wild Geese _in this chapter. And yes, Rainbow Lavine is very closely based on the character Rainbow Lapin from the anthro comic _Shanda the Panda, _except that this Rainbow is human (not a bunny) and has a much nastier personality. _

_REVIEWER'S CORNER:_

_Panzerfaust: Good to see you again, too. I never really thought about which order Father Wielkosc belongs to, but Jesuit sounds good to me. (I have a MechWarrior monastic order I used in a MechWarrior game called the "Order of St. Joan" that I might throw in someday.) Don't worry about Marion and Maysa—Marion's hit that point where she realizes it's about time to retire, whereas Maysa's dealing with all kinds of hormone issues and natural teenage rebelliousness. They'll be okay. Assuming they live, of course. And I agree with you on Tooriu, and I'm glad I read your review, because I was about to make Satoridon the typical Kuritan. (You should like that part…)_

_Texray: Don't sweat it too much—there's a lot of fighting still._

_Siba: Sorry 'bout that. Senefa's not going anywhere. (And I love cliffhangers. Heh heh heh.)_

_SulliMike: Yep, those Jaguars just don't have a sense of humor._

_FraserMage: Looks like Sheila's premonition about Bastogne is coming true, huh? Then again, it's probably closer to Masada or Rorke's Drift…_

_MUSIC CORNER: "Silent Running" by Mike+The Mechanics, the main theme to _Jurassic Park, _and "Shattered Dreams" by Johnny Hates Jazz._

* * *

_Greenfields_

_Kagoshima, Pesht District, Draconis Combine_

_26 December 3051_

Sheila stood on a small hill looking out over Greenfields. She thought the name entirely appropriate: it was forty square kilometers of farmland, lying fallow for the winter, bounded by mountains. Standing with her on the rise was Max, Marion, Senefa, Tessya, and David Moore. Satoridon and his staff were below them, pointing out potential attack zones and landing sites for the Smoke Jaguars. "What do you think?" Sheila asked her officers.

"Honestly? It's a killing field," Marion answered.

"Well, that's good—"

"It's a killing field for us." Marion cut Sheila off and waved out over the plain. "I think I know what Satoridon has in mind, and it's the same damn way Kurita's fought for the past three hundred years when they started losing: mass banzai charge. It hasn't worked since World War II back in old Terran history, and it's not going to work now."

"Hold on," Tessya protested. "My father was in the Clovis DMM on Galtor III, and he was on the opposite end of some of those banzai charges. He said they scared the shit out of him."

"Oh, sure," Marion replied, "if you've got a unit that's not used to it, like a militia unit. But against a unit that knows what it's doing? The front ranks might break a bit, but once the charge spends itself, starts getting hung up in the second and third ranks, then it'll get cut off and wiped out."

Tessya had obviously elected herself devil's advocate, because she protested, "Fine, but at Sanglamore they said one of the most effective tactics to resisting a planetary assault was to hit them on the drop zones, set them off-balance right at the start."

"Again, yeah, _if_ the unit's inexperienced, Tessya. If it's a veteran unit, they'll hold, and you've shot your wad in the first 24 hours of the campaign. Not me." Marion whirled a finger around. "I'd rather take up a position in the hills, let 'em come to me, and chop 'em up."

"Senefa?" Sheila asked. "You know anything about this Char Furey guy?"

"Nothing about him," Senefa said, "but the 17th Jaguar Regulars are a second-line unit. They will have few OmniMechs and mostly conventional 'Mechs—some Clan designs_,_ refitted Star League-era designs, and perhaps even a few refitted Inner Sphere 'Mechs the Jaguars have captured." She raised a finger. "I warn you, however. Merely because they are second-line 'Mechs and MechWarriors makes them no less dangerous. Many of the Clans' non-OmniMechs are, in some cases, better designs because they do not sacrifice armor for mobility and firepower. The Smoke Jaguars have a deserved reputation for inflexible tactics, but they are even more committed to war than the other Clans, including the Jade Falcons. They are not to be underestimated, quiaff?"

"Won't most of the 17th's troops be freebirths?" Max inquired. "The Jaguars don't treat their freebirths very well, as I recall from Outreach training."

"They treat their freebirths abominably," Senefa answered. "Paradoxically, this only makes the freebirth warriors even more determined to succeed and prove themselves."

"You think they'll hold against a charge?" Marion asked.

"I believe they will. Of course, nothing is certain in war, quiaff? Nonetheless, I believe such an attack would fail."

"Three Trinaries going to be enough to take Kagoshima?" This from David.

"Against the Sun Zhang cadets? Aff." Senefa smiled. "Against us? Neg." Her smile faded and Senefa shrugged. "He could, of course, break his bid and bring down his whole Cluster. Our chances would be less then—but I would hate to be the Smoke Jaguars all the same." She turned as Satoridon and his staff made their way to the top of the hill. Satoridon motioned out over the plain. "What do you think, Commander?" Sheila noticed that neither she nor her officers had been invited to the Sun Zhang's deliberations at the base of the hill.

"I'd like to hear your plan first," Sheila told him.

"Of course." Satoridon kicked away some of the surface grass to expose mud below it. He used a stick to trace his plan. "Given their trajectory and typical assault tactics, we believe the Smoke Jaguars will land at the far end of the valley, with their backs to the hills to the north." He pointed at them in the far distance. "If they make a combat drop, which we think they will, we will strike them as soon as they touch ground. If they bring DropShips, we must let them assemble first—not what I'd like to do, but I would rather not charge into the guns of DropShips." Sheila nodded; one DropShip could be surrounded and picked off by 'Mechs, but engaging several was like charging into a solid wall of laserfire and guns.

"Either way," Satoridon continued, "I intend to form my battalion into an assault column—my command group at the front, with Ichi Company. Ni Company and San Company will follow in trail. At a kilometer from the edge of the Smoke Jaguar dropzones, Ni and San will move to the edges and refuse both the left and the right flanks." The column would become a wedge, Sheila saw. "Should the Jaguars attempt to form a line to halt the column, they will find themselves facing the firepower of not one company, but all three. Naturally, we hope to catch them disorganized, but we must acknowledge that our enemies are skilled." Sheila nodded; at least Satoridon wasn't underestimating the Smoke Jaguars. "What do you think, Commander?"

"Pretty good," Sheila said, because she thought it was true. From what she knew of tales from her father and from history books, Kurita banzai charges tended to be every-man-for-himself disorganized attacks that hoped to carry the day by sheer force of will and spirit—what the Kuritans called _yamato damashii_, love of the homeland. As Marion had said, if the other side expected the attack or got itself organized quickly enough, banzai charges were suicidal, and often intended to be to begin with. She felt better that Satoridon was thinking with his head and not his heart. Still, there was something that concerned her. "Can your cadets do this? Changing formation in the middle of a charge is tough."

"Of course we can," snapped Oshima. "We've done it hundreds of times."

"How many times in combat?" Max asked.

Oshima scowled. "Our training is far more difficult than what you Steiners experience. We know what to do. We are samurai, mercenary! We will win or we will die!" Most of Satoridon's staff nodded at that, a few growling their agreement in no uncertain terms. Others—a minority, but some, like Usagi—kept noticeably silent. Sheila noticed that all of those who did so were older men, some with noticeable scars: veteran instructors. Those who were agreeing with Oshima were younger men, newer instructors or upperclassmen promoted to instructors with the departure of so many to Luthien. Sheila also noticed, for the first time, that there was a definite age gap between the two groups. The veterans like Usagi and Satoridon were approaching or past fifty. None of the others were past thirty. That wasn't necessarily a bad thing—Sheila reminded herself that she was only nineteen—but unlike these men, she had seen plenty of combat. She glanced at Marion, who mouthed _told you._

"Where do you want us?" Sheila asked.

"Where would you like to be?" Satoridon returned.

That was not the answer Sheila wanted. "Well, I should think you'd want our help in the attack, if it's not a private party," she replied acidly.

"It is not and we certainly would. I simply wanted to hear it from you personally." Satoridon smiled, and Sheila wasn't sure what to make of that.

"We'll follow behind, but about 500 meters behind your trailing companies." She borrowed Satoridon's stick. "We'll form three combat wedges in a triangle. I'll be in the lead, with Alpha Recon on my left and Alpha Assault on my right." Sheila did this because the Snowbirds would have to make a slight turn to come into the Greenfields valley; the light 'Mechs would have further to travel. She would've liked to have reorganized the Snowbirds in provisional companies so that the light 'Mechs wouldn't outrun their support, but there wasn't time. "Bravo Company will follow behind and to the right with Bravo Command in the lead, Bravo Heavy on the right and Bravo Medium on the left. Senefa, you'll be in command of Bravo."

"Understood." Senefa already had known about it; Elfa could still fit into her 'Mech despite her swollen belly, but Sheila was keeping her out of the fight. While the doctors were pretty sure that she still had about two or three months to go, combat stress could force a premature birth, which was how Mimi Stykkis had come into the world.

"Marion, you and Charlie will be on my left. I want you to be in an inverted wedge, with you on the extreme left flank, that way you can start firing right away without worrying about us being in your way. Tie Charlie Heavy in with Bravo Medium in the middle, but leave Charlie Fire behind so they can give us plenty of cover fire. Just have John Lawson and Fabian Cynmar chuck Arrow IV rounds into the rear areas of the Smoke Jaguars. Have them move at a walk. I know that'll leave you a lance short when we make contact, but…"

"Yeah. The _Spartan_ and the _Catapult_ aren't made for close in fighting. Gotcha." Sheila could see that Marion was not sold on the idea of charging with the Sun Zhang, but Satoridon had forced them into it. Staying out of it would not only be seen as cowardice, it would also guarantee failure for the Kuritans.

"Does that meet with your approval, Tai-sa?" Sheila tried to keep any annoyance out of her voice.

"It does. By having an interval between us, you should hit the Smoke Jaguars after they have already engaged us. I had no idea you had artillery 'Mechs. Where did you find them?"

"We found them behind the baking soda," Max quipped, which brought some needed laughs.

"Where do you want me?" Moore asked.

"Right here," Sheila said, stamping the hill. "You can give us covering fire, but I don't want to risk tanks in the middle of a 'Mech melee, which this is probably going to turn into."

"Okay by me." Moore had not been looking forward to putting his relatively fragile tanks and support vehicles in a position to get literally stomped by a 'Mech.

"There is one other thing, Tai-sa," Sheila said. "We need a line of retreat and a fall-back position in case we start to lose."

"We will not lose!" Oshima shouted.

"I know," Sheila replied calmly, "but what happens if we do?"

"I agree with Oshima-san," Satoridon told her. "We will not lose. If we lose, Commander, we will surely die. I do not see the Smoke Jaguars allowing us to calmly retreat…and frankly, I would rather not tell our cadets about any such plans to retreat. It will hurt morale. It also might encourage them _to_ retreat."

"You in that much hurry to join your ancestors?" Marion said with a wry smile.

"Not at all, Major. I am simply acknowledging the truth. If we lose, I will be joining my ancestors one way or another."

Sheila raised a hand to cut off any more shots from Marion. "You won't mind if I plan out something, just in case?"

"For your own unit, no."

"Just like hireswords to protect their investments," one of the younger Kuritans sneered.

Satoridon fixed him with an iron glare. "One more remark out of turn, Chu-i Noribetsu, and you will be slitting your belly by sunset." He looked at all of his officers. "I do not like the situation any more than any of you, but the fact remains that our chances with the mercenaries supporting us are much better than they would be fighting alone. If we must fight with a borrowed sword, then we will do so." He turned back to Sheila. "Tell the helicopter pilot to fly you around. There are some good places in the mountains between here and Kagoshima City and the Edo DropPort. I will leave it to you to choose where."

"Thank you, Tai-sa." They exchanged salutes and the two groups separated. Sheila took one last look at the valley before climbing into the waiting Peregrine VTOL with the others. This time, she sat up front, with the pilot. She didn't like helicopters: as Elizabeth Dowlings had once told her, someone sooner or later would realize that they couldn't fly. Marion had announced with typical gallows humor back at Kagoshima City that the Peregrine had a godawful safety record, with a tendency towards the engine flying apart and sending fragments straight through the passenger compartment, not to mention making further flight doubtful.

Sheila put on a helmet and adjusted the boom mike, reading the pilot's rank. "Chu-i, Tai-sa Satoridon said there might be good defensive ground between here and Kagoshima City. Think we could look around?"

"No problem, Commander." He pulled up the collective and the Peregrine rose into the air, heading south. Luckily it was a clear day, just above freezing. Unfortunately, the weather was supposed to be good for the next week, which meant the Smoke Jaguars would have perfect weather for the drop.

Whatever the Peregrine's other problems, it did have good visibility from the front. Sheila spotted several hills that might make good defensive positions, but nothing that really stood out. Most of the terrain ran north and south here, meaning that she could start a couple of good ambushes, but only if the Jaguars were dumb enough to walk into them. Otherwise, the hills were simply too easy to roll up from one side or another. When the outskirts of Kagoshima City came into view, she had the pilot turn around, pointing to a map. "Let's check out these two ridges—Kamuriyama and Kiriyama." He nodded, and they overflew the two ridges. Kamuriyama was high—290 meters—but it was topped by outcroppings of limestone karst. It would make it devilishly hard to take from the west, but also hard to defend from the east, since 'Mechs would be sitting ducks standing atop the karst. It could also be assaulted from the north, since the slope was gradual there. To hold Kamuriyama, one would have to hold the 285 meter Kiriyama, but this was a gentle, open slope, though the rocks there might provide some cover. Sheila had the pilot swing around again; there was a ridge just to the south of Kamuriyama that might help. It was then that she saw it, and she wondered how she could have ever missed it before.

Kiriyama fell away gently to a wide valley covered in frozen rice paddies. A slow-moving brownish river meandered through the valley, extensively irrigated and dotted with villages here and there, and one large town. It was the feature above the town that drew Sheila's interest. Unlike the two ridges she had looked at before, this one rose vertically from the valley, though not so a 'Mech or a tank would find the slope impossible. Still, it was steeper than the others. The top was flat, like a mesa, though there were protrusions of the ubiqitous karst of Kagoshima there. A single road made its way up a long slope before making a hairpin turn onto the mesa. A small village sat atop it, along with what looked to be the remains of an airfield. She pointed in that direction and the pilot circled it. The south face of the mesa was almost sheer, with a few protrusions that might be negotiated by a gutsy MechWarrior with a jumping 'Mech, or jump infantry. Below the south face, however, was a very thin strip of rocky beach, and beyond it a turbulent bay. The western face was also rocky and difficult, though still possible to climb; it dropped to the river, which became turbulent as it squeezed between the ridge—Unzenyama—and the mesa before widening into a small delta at the ocean's edge. Sheila looked at the map: the mesa was called Toriyama, Bird Mountain. "Land there," she told the pilot.

"Oh, you mean Toriyama? That used to be the DropPort for Kagoshima, until they built Edo. People got sick of driving twenty klicks out here." The pilot steered the Peregrine towards the mesa. "The militia's fighter planes still use it for training, and there's some private planes still up here."

"Who lives there?"

"Some artists' community." The pilot grinned at Sheila. "You know the kind. The kind who throw garbage at canvas and call it art. They write weird poetry and smoke stims. The ones who protest everything the government does but can't come up with a good replacement."

"Oh. You mean hippies." At least Sheila thought that was what they were named; she had heard her father call a few people that on Grunwald.

"Yeah, I think so. They're harmless, though. The Friendly Persuaders don't bother them because they're not worth it. Kagoshima's laid back that way…now if this was Luthien or Pesht, they'd be cracking some skulls, but we don't much care here." The pilot apparently thought he'd talked too much, for he said nothing else as they landed on a cracked and disused helicopter pad between the airfield and the town. Sheila and her staff got out. "What's up?" Max asked. Over the roar of the helicopter's engine, there was no chance of hearing anything in the cabin.

"I was thinking of maybe using this as a fallback point."

"Kinda far from Greenfields."

"Yeah, I know. I just didn't see anything better."

Marion shaded her eyes against the sun, turning in place. "You thinking about making a stand here, Sheila?"

"If we lose at Greenfields, yeah."

"Max's right," Tessya said. "It's a little off the beaten path."

"It is that…but we're still too close to Kagoshima City for an occupier to like it. And I don't think the Smoke Jags are going to simply ignore a battalion or two sitting around. They'll come after us, hell or glory."

"Battalion," Marion corrected. "Satoridon's gonna die at Greenfields if he doesn't win. If the Jags don't get him, he'll gut himself. Think I'll wander around some. C'mon, Dave." She began walking south. Moore shrugged and followed her.

"Good idea," Sheila said. "Tessya, you and Senefa go look over where the road comes in. See if it's good for 'Mechs." Tessya and Senefa nodded, and Max and Sheila walked towards the north face, across the runway. The latter was cracked in places, but it would still be serviceable. They reached the north rim and looked down. "Quite the view," Max remarked, and it was. They could see straight across the Kamuri Valley to Kiriyama, and even beyond that to Kaimonyama, the eastern ridge that blocked their view of Greenfields. Sheila knelt and looked down the slope. It was easier than she thought it would be for 'Mechs, but when she idly tossed a rock down the slope, it struck others that shattered, causing a mini-landslide. "The whole slope's limestone karst," she said.

Max carefully kicked at the edge, which fell apart. "You're right. That would be a bitch to assault. It's not impossible, but man, you couldn't trust your footing for a second." He knelt next to her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "What do you think?"

"I think this is a good spot, with a little work."

"Maybe it won't come to that."

"Maybe." Sheila leaned her head on his hand for a moment. "But I have a bad feeling it's going to. Something tells me Satoridon's attack won't work."

Max's reply died on his lips as he spotted someone coming at them from the village, full speed. "I think we've got a welcoming party." He stood, as did Sheila.

As the figure got closer, they could tell it was female. She was short, remarkably so, and wore her hair down to her waist. She wore patched and faded jeans, sandals, and a fringed shirt that barely contained breasts that had not seen a bra for some years. She wore rose-colored glasses, but the eyes behind them blazed fire. "Hello, servants of the Dragon! Why don't you come over to the village? I've got women and children there, ripe for the slaughter!" She came up to Sheila, nearly standing on the latter's boots, her eyes level with Sheila's chest. "I don't recognize your uniform, warmonger. Who the hell are you?"

"And a hearty hello to you, too," Max said with heavy sarcasm.

Sheila decided to be nice. "I'm Commander Sheila Arla-Vlata, Snowbirds SMCAT—"

"Never heard of them," the woman interrupted.

"You might, if you'd shut up long enough," Sheila snarled, her temper rapidly reaching its limit. "This is Major Max Canis-Vlata, my aide and husband. We're under contract to the Federated Commonwealth—"

"Hmpf. Mercenaries. If there's anything worse than people who kill for the glory of House Kurita, it's people who kill for cash."

"Don't mince words, miss, tell us how you feel," Max said.

"I will! And I don't much like things like you close to my village. What're you doing here?"

"I have an idea," Sheila snapped, "why don't you tell us who you are, and then we'll say hello, and we'll be having this thing called a conversation."

The woman paused and took a step back. "I'm Rainbow. Rainbow Levine."

"You're the mayor of Toriyama…Village?" Sheila asked.

"Toriyama Commune. We don't have a mayor. We don't acknowledge authority. Not Kurita, not anyone. No one but each other and whatever people choose to call God, blessed be Her name."

Max and Sheila looked at each other incredously. They had met plenty of different and strange people in their time, but no one like this, and certainly hadn't expected to in the middle of the most militaristic realm of the Inner Sphere. "I see," Sheila said, though she didn't. "So, you're an artists' community?"

"Of sorts, among other things. Are you here touring, Commander? I recall there being something of a war on. Shouldn't you be getting back to it?"

"You don't know?"

"Know what? Did someone finally win? Because no one ever does." Levine smirked. "At least you have steady work."

"I'm afraid it's a bit more complicated than that," Sheila told her. "I'm afraid the war's come to Kagoshima. You know who the Smoke Jaguars are?" Levine had gone pale, which was answer enough for Sheila. "Well, they're on the way here, Miss Levine. They intend to take the planet. We and the Sun Zhang Cadre are going to try to stop them a ways off, but if we fail and survive, then we'll be making our way back here."

"What for?" Levine said in a horrified whisper.

"I should think that would be obvious. We'll need to make a stand somewhere, and Toriyama seems to be the best yet." Sheila had to resist the urge to smile, because she was taking some cruel enjoyment in taking the wind from Levine's sails.

"You can't do that," Levine said. "You can't do that!" She suddenly turned and ran for the village.

"Wow," was all Max could say. "Out of all the places to run into a pacifist, we do it on Kagoshima."

"Yep. Hurts to be bitchslapped by reality. Come on." They walked back to the helicopter. Her real fingers reached out and sought his, and they held hands.

The others were already waiting. Marion wore a big smile. "Sheila, this is wonderful ground. We should tell Satoridon to shove it and come here."

"We're not doing that," Sheila said. "We owe it to him to try and make his attack succeed…but if it _does_ fail, I think this may be our best bet. How's that south face look?"

"I wouldn't want to try that without crampons and rope," Moore replied. "Elementals might make it, but I doubt it. 'Mechs wouldn't stand a chance."

"Sounds good. Senefa, Tessya, what about the road?"

Tessya nodded. "Looks good. It's a long, easy climb up from the river—that's where the only bridge is, down there—and there's a little farming village just on the other side of that outcrop." She motioned towards where a huge slab of karst jutted into the air, like a massive rock hand. "The road forks, and it's narrow as hell either way. We could hold that pass for a week with just a lance. I know you want to help the Sun Zhang, Sheila, but Marion's got a point. This is such lovely ground." She nodded towards the village. "What about them?"

"We met the mayor. Or whatever she is." Max rolled his eyes. "The less said the better."

"It appears more will be said." Senefa pointed. Levine was once more on the attack, coming towards Sheila. This time, a young girl trailed in her wake, who had to be Levine's daughter; she was dressed similar to her mother, but somewhat more modestly. "You have _got_ to be kidding me," Max breathed, for the daughter was wearing glasses in the shape of hearts.

"You!" Levine stabbed a finger towards Sheila. "I want you to see—" she half-dragged her daughter forward, who looked utterly terrified; Sheila saw that the girl was about Louisa's age, which didn't help Sheila feel any better. "I want you to see," Levine repeated, "just what you will kill when you bring the war here!"

"We're really sorry about this," Moore said placatingly. "It's the Clans—"

"Who wouldn't be coming to Kagoshima if it wasn't for you!"

"Stop it," Sheila ordered. "It doesn't matter why, Miss Levine. They're on their way, and no amount of crying is going to stop them."

"Then the least you can do is take it somewhere else," Levine snapped back, not giving ground. "We came here to escape the wars, not so someone like you can bring it back to us." She shooed them off as if they were flies. "Go away. Leave us in peace, you damned murderers!"

"You want to see murder?" Marion took a step forward, anger flooding into her features. "How about I see what your fucking head looks like when it's on backwards?" Levine whisked her daughter behind her. "Don't listen to her, Sheila," Marion told her commander. "I've met her type before. Were you on New Kyoto in '40, bitch? Because I remember someone who looked a lot like you that spit on me there!"

"You surely deserved it!" Levine screamed back. "It was people like you who ran me off Dieron in 3039 when I was twelve!"

Marion lunged, prepared to do a great deal of violence on Levine's body, but Sheila slapped a metal hand in the way. "That's enough!" she shouted. She met Levine's eyes. "Listen, Miss Levine. I don't like this any more than you do, because if we have to come back here, it may be for a last stand. I pray to God it doesn't come to that, but if it does, I'm going to come here to hold out until someone comes to save what's left. I'm sorry that it's going to screw up your little utopia. Maybe you can tell the Jaguars that when they get here the day after tomorrow." Sheila put her face within inches of Levine's. "I'm going to send someone up here to start fortifying this hill. I don't expect you to cooperate, but I do expect you to stay the hell out of the way. Do we have an understanding?"

"You'll kill us all," Levine said.

"I doubt it. Your village is set well back from the north face. If the Jaguars come, they'll come there."

"Damn you to hell." Levine spun on one heel, took her child, and dragged her away.

"You're just making friends all over, Sheila," Max chuckled wryly.

"Tell me about it," Sheila sighed. "Well, there's nothing for it. I'll send Elfa up here this afternoon. Maybe Levine won't yell at a pregnant woman. Elfa needs something to keep her mind focused so she's not moping around." Elfa had been none too pleased at being Dispossessed because of her pregnancy. Sheila saw Levine quickly surrounded by villagers, and a lot of fingers and fists pointed in their direction. "Let's go before we're killed by a mob of pacifists."


	5. Ten Thousand Years

_AUTHOR'S NOTES: I've had more free time this week than I thought, plus the batteries seem to be recharged (and it's either this or get my butt kicked on Madden). So here you go, another chapter._

_Yay, 'Mech fight! This one was hard to write, and it's only the first. *sigh* Maybe I should just make this the Battletech equivalent of _Twilight, _and make it an angst fest…_

_I got a lot of inspiration for this chapter by watching the classic John Wayne/Henry Fonda western _Fort Apache, _so some of that made it in here. I apologize if there's some Japanese usage in here that's probably not really needed, but I think it gives it flavor. _

_REVIEWER'S CORNER:_

_Bien: Thanks. Not out of gas yet._

_Mosin: Don't sweat it. I like reviews, but I'm not going to be one of those authors who refuses to write more unless I get them. Well, not usually, anyway (a few of my Inu-Yasha stories have died early deaths due to complete lack of interest). As far as the hippies go, there's probably tons of them throughout the Inner Sphere. After all, if The Man starts harshing on you, you can always go find a planet and tune out, man…and if everything went as planned, I wouldn't have much of a story. Like Sig Hansen says, "It's called fishing, not catching."_

_Flashpoint: Thanks. Hopefully some more laughs to come, though this is a pretty serious story._

_FraserMage: Damn, dude. Express that inner Smoke Jaguar!_

_Panzerfaust: *cuts to Elfa taking notes* "Yeah, yeah…okay, mines, traps, I got it." But I have to ask, who's Sepp Kraft? _

_MUSIC CORNER: "Riddle of Steel/Riders of Doom" from _Conan the Barbarian _(Basil Poledouris FTW), "March to Mortality" from _Gettysburg, _and "Leaving" from _Armageddon.

* * *

_Greenfields_

_Kagoshima, Pesht District, Draconis Combine_

_28 December 3051_

"Beautiful day for a war," Marion Rhialla greeted Sheila as the latter walked towards her _Shruiken._

Sheila looked up at the cloudless sky. She wore a light jacket over her cooling vest and her legs were bare, but it felt only a little cold, and that was due to the wind. Like it had the day before, it was unseasonably warm for Kagoshima, which had a very Terralike orbit and therefore should be in the midst of winter. Sheila didn't know if it was a good omen or not. "I guess," she finally answered Marion, not sure of what else to say.

Marion pushed off the leg of her _Palladium_. "I'm serious. Visibility unlimited, the ground's dry, and what wind we do have is just enough to make us look cool." She motioned at the BattleMechs drawn up in the valley that led into the Greenfields plain. "I have to admit, Satoridon's guys may be green as grass, but they do go to war in style."

Sheila laughed, but Marion had a point. The Snowbirds were at the foot of Kaimonyama, so they were slightly higher than the Sun Zhang Cadre's machines. Satoridon had dressed colors: the 'Mechs were painted in a drab overall light gray, but the Kurita dragons and the setting sun symbol of the Academy were bright and fresh. From the back of every 'Mech fluttered banners bedecked with the Academy's emblem, the special patch drawn up by each graduating class, the MechWarrior's personal family _mon_ crest, or all three. The effect was that the Sun Zhang Cadre looked like a battalion of samurai, a unit ancient shoguns like Ieyasu Tokugawa or Hideyoshi Toyotomi would have felt comfortable commanding, which was the intent.

When the Snowbirds had learned how the Sun Zhang would go into battle, Marion and Nicia's techs had spent an all-nighter making sure that all the Snowbird 'Mechs had a fresh coat of paint—though the Snowbirds used muted grays and camouflage—and new Snowbird and Sentinel crests. She had been doubly sure that kill marks were displayed for all to see, both for the Sun Zhang to envy and the Smoke Jaguars to fear. Finally, though the Snowbirds didn't go to the level of the Cadre's back-banners, a flagpole had been welded to the _Shruiken_, and from it fluttered both the regimental flag of the Sentinels and the Snowbirds' own banner. Sheila had agreed to it, though now she wondered if it was such a great idea. Flag bearers tended to get noticed and then get killed. "We don't look so bad ourselves," Sheila mused. "Hope it was worth it, the all-nighter."

Marion held up her hands, which were shaking. "Four cups of coffee in the last hour. I'm awake, but I'll probably piss myself in the fight."

"You think it's a good plan?" Sheila asked. They had gone over it with everyone this morning, and the Snowbirds seemed enthusiastic enough.

"Yeah. It's not us I'm worried about." She nodded at Satoridon's 'Mechs. "Those cadets are going to be going into the shit, and I don't care what Usagi or that fool Oshima say, they're not ready. They've got some good 'Mechs there, and just because they're old doesn't make them any less deadly because they've been maintained so well…but still. I just can't have too much confidence in a unit made up of half _Chameleons._" Sheila had to agree: nearly half of Satoridon's forty 'Mechs were the 50-ton training 'Mech. The _Chameleon_ wasn't a bad machine: it had fair armor, great mobility for its size, and reasonable firepower, but the fact remained that it was a training 'Mech and never designed to be used in a battle. Satoridon had two heavy lances and a single assault lance, but the rest were mediums and lights. Two Trinaries meant 30 'Mechs, which meant that Star Colonel Char Furey would be outnumbered almost three to one, since the Sun Zhang and the Snowbirds combined at 76 'Mechs, but he and his warriors were Clan.

"We'll pick up the slack."

"And if we don't?"

"If we don't, there's still Toriyama." Sheila had visited the mesa the evening before. Putting Elfa in charge had been a great idea. It had taken very little to convince Satoridon to activate one of Kagoshima's militia regiments, and even less to get the militia to deploy to Toriyama. The militia wasn't well-equipped and not particularly well-trained, but they were enthusiastic, and had taken to refurbishing Toriyama with gusto. Rainbow Levine's community had kept to themselves, neither interfering in the work nor helping it, and Sheila figured that would be the best she could get for now.

Both of them jumped when a siren went off. Instinctively, they looked up, and spotted sunlight winking off disant armor plate, on specks barely discernible to the human eye. "Combat drop," Marion said, shaking her head. "Furey's got balls, that's for sure. Well," she grinned at Sheila, "time to make the donuts."

"Good luck," Sheila said, hugging the older woman.

"Save the luck for the Jags. I'll take skill." She winked at Sheila and began climbing up her _Palladium._ Sheila dashed off to her _Shruiken,_ quickly clambering up to the cockpit, closing the canopy, and strapping in. In moments, she and her 'Mech were ready to go. A light blinked for her attention on the instrument panel, and she activated her radio. "Snowbird, go ahead."

"Snowbird, this is Nova." It was Satoridon. "Are you ready?"

"Momentarily, Nova. Your orders?"

"We're moving forward. Execute as planned."

"Roger that, Nova. We'll be right behind you."

"Arigato, Snowbird. May Buddha shine upon us and may your God be with you. Nova out." Sheila watched for a moment as the Sun Zhang Cadre flawlessly fell into company columns and began moving onto the plain. Then she switched frequencies to her lance. "Snowbird Lance, check in."

"Snowbird Two. Let's rock." Mimi Stykkis was ready.

"Snowbird Three, up." Kahvi Falx.

"Snowbird Four, up." Frederick Matria.

"Roger that. Form on me. Snowbird Actual out." She switched back to the battalion frequency, and the others checked in. Sheila felt her heart miss a beat when Max checked in as Sasquatch Actual. She could see his _Battlemaster_ behind and to her right, newly repaired and painted as if New Caledonia had never happened. The Cadre had parted with a _Dragon_ for Kahvi, a new _Panther_ for Glynnis Griffin, and a new _Phoenix Hawk_ for Ariel Munroe, who was groggily walking around, but alive and upright. She was back at Toriyama on radio watch, which left three lances of the Snowbirds short a 'Mech. With the Snowbirds as ready as they would ever be, Sheila watched the chronometer tick down. "Snowbiiiirds—" she drew out the last syllable "—forward…march!"

She started the _Shruiken_ moving forward. Moving down the little hill they had been on put the Sun Zhang 'Mechs out of sight for a minute or two, but as she moved onto Greenfields Plain, the sight was so magnificent that she felt her breath catch for a moment. The wind had picked up a little, and the banners of the Sun Zhang fluttered and flapped as the unit maintained perfect unison as it marched forward, a column dressed so well Sheila felt ashamed of the way the Snowbirds were trailing behind her like a shaggy tail. Far ahead, the first wave of Smoke Jaguars had reached the ground and were deploying, though she couldn't see how yet, even at full magnification on her HUD. A quick glance at the sky showed more Jaguar 'Mechs arriving, the second Trinary. The wind was pushing them off to her right, which helped: the weight of the Snowbirds' firepower was to the right. Sheila made one last check of the distance between the Snowbirds' column and the Sun Zhang's; it was right where it was supposed to be, and she was not going too fast or too slow. She was just below what MechWarriors called "jogging speed," which for her _Shruiken_ was a little over forty kilometers per hour; to her left, Tessya Blackthorn's _Wasp_ was practically dragging its feet, as its jogging speed was twenty kilometers per hour faster than the _Shruiken's._

The minutes ticked down, both sides still out of range but getting close enough to really see the other. Sheila peered at the shimmering image in her HUD; most of her view was blocked by the Sun Zhang 'Mechs, but it looked like they were shaking themselves out into line, the perfect formation for opposing a column. She gave Furey some credit: the second Trinary had dropped well and was now pushing itself out on the right flank, probably to hit the Cadre as soon as it assumed formation. She keyed her radio. "Nova, Snowbird—watch your right; you've got a Trinary forming up there."

"I see it, Snowbird." Satoridon was terse, so Sheila remained quiet. _Relax,_ she commanded herself, feeling her muscles tense up. _Satoridon's not an idiot. He's done this before._ She looked at the newly arrived Trinary and saw that it wasn't getting itself put into line or any other formation: it was moving quickly, paralleling a row of trees planted there as a windbreak. _Furey's going to try and throw us off, get us to deploy to guard our flank. I hope Satoridon's seen…there we go._ The Sun Zhang 'Mechs began to move to running speed. Sheila glanced at the Smoke Jaguars, who weren't arrowing in to attack the cadets, but rather beginning to move directly towards her. _Son of a bitch. The bastard wants the Snowbirds._ Tactically, it would be better to set up a skirmish line in the trees and fire into the Sun Zhang and Snowbird right flank, but instead the Jaguars were running at the head of the Snowbird column, which made sense from a Clan point of view: the cadets were less worthy targets than the experienced Snowbirds. _Okay, asshole, if you want to fight the varsity, then we're made to please._

"Snowbirds from Actual," Sheila addressed her battalion. "We've got Jags coming at us, right front. Deploy into wedge at the double-quick." No one responded; no one needed to. She turned the _Shruiken's_ head from side to side, taking rapid glances. The Snowbirds deployed from loose column into line without losing a step. It had been a little early, but Sheila wasn't going to risk being flanked. In less than a minute, the Snowbirds were out into the fighting wedge that she had planned two days before, without a single wasted command or effort. She felt a bit of a lump in her throat: it was something that only veterans could execute. The Snowbirds had become that good.

Her HUD began to count down the range. Sheila felt her mouth become progressively drier, her right hand get a little sweaty, her breathing quickened, and was glad she had gone to the bathroom before she had come out here, because she felt an irrational urge to do so. Everything seemed remarkably focused, and the _Shruiken_ felt like her own body. Her fingers tensed on the triggers as she locked onto the lead 'Mech, a _Highlander;_ just as Senefa had predicted, the second-line Jaguar units used old Star League designs, though from the confusion her battle computer was giving her, Sheila had a feeling that these 'Mechs had been reworked.

Suddenly, the Jaguar Trinary made an abrupt, sharp turn to the left. "Oh shit," Sheila whispered, and keyed her mike. "Nova, Nova, Snowbird, 'Mechs, right flank!" Weapons fire began to reach out from the Jaguars, and Sheila cursed both herself and Satoridon: the Jaguars had faked them both out, feinting towards the Snowbirds while their real target was the Cadre. She'd also underestimated Furey: the attack was perfectly timed, because Satoridon had evidently just given the order to deploy from column into line.

To their credit, the cadets performed well: Sheila half-expected to see the Cadre disintegrate under fire, but instead they doggedly kept moving forward, even as sparks and small explosions marked hits in their ranks. "Falcon, Snowbird, move up and stop those Jaguars!"

"Understood," was all Senefa said. Missile fire smoked away from Senefa's _Thunderbolt_, Dan Polycutt's _Dervish,_ and Tam Seneca's _Archer_—out of range, but enough to get the attention of the Clan units. Sensing the threat now coming in, the Star led by the _Highlander_ turned to intercept Senefa, but another, this one commanded by a _Ryoken_, was still angling in on the Cadre. At first, Sheila meant to detail Max against it, but it was moving too fast; Max's assaults wouldn't get there in time. Sheila had to take it herself. "Snowbird Lance from Actual; Clan Star, one o'clock, right flank; let's take 'em. Sasquatch and Talisman, continue forward."

"Snowbird! Snowbird!" Tessya called out. "We've got dropping 'Mechs coming in on our left!"

"What the hell?" Sheila wondered aloud. She looked up in that direction. More sparkles of sun on armor. Sheila assumed there were three Stars in front of the Cadre, two stars to the right, which left a sixth unaccounted for—but this looked to be more than just five more 'Mechs. "Son of a bitch," Sheila snarled to herself. "The bastard broke his bid." _And it's my fault,_ she added silently. She had pushed Furey, and instead of two Trinaries, she now faced an unknown number, at least three. She had hoped to get under his skin, and had, but now, as Satoridon predicted, he was bringing everything he had. "Tigerstripe from Snowbird. You've got Jaguars landing to your front. Kill them, if you don't mind."

"We're on it, Snowbird, but it's gonna take a minute."

"Fuck!" Sheila shouted in frustration without keying the mike. Rhialla's 'Mechs were slow as well. Furey was forcing the Snowbirds to react to him. They had lost the initiative, but they could still regain it. It would take the dropping 'Mechs a minute or two to land, then another minute to sort themselves out. If Satoridon could peel off his 3rd Company, they could pin down the new Trinary long enough for Marion to get there; she and Senefa could hold off the Trinary on the right flank, allowing Satoridon's remaining two companies to continue to attack. She switched frequencies with the movement of a thumb. "Nova, Snowbird, you've got 'Mechs dropping to your left. I'm coming up as fast as I can, but they're going to be on top of you very fast. Recommend you detail your 3rd Company to intercept." If the Cadre backed up, they could link up with the Snowbirds and hold the line.

"Negative," Satoridon replied. "Two Stars to my front now falling back." Sheila could see that Satoridon's formation was beginning to come apart: though the right flank Trinary was increasingly under fire from the Snowbirds, it had forced the Sun Zhang's 2nd Company to press in on the 1st Company in the lead. In both the 2nd and 3rd Companies, overeager cadets were running their 'Mechs up to full speed in an effort to close the distance to the Smoke Jaguars. If any of them noticed the third Trinary dropping on their left, they gave no indication.

Suddenly Sheila saw Furey's plan, and it was lethally brilliant. _Oh my God. Cannae. _An image of the battle so studied at Nagelring—and surely at Sun Zhang—popped into her head. The Battle of Cannae had been Hannibal's victory over the Romans, where he had drawn them in, then pounced on both flanks. The Romans had been annilihated. "Nova, that's a trap! Get out of there!"

Satoridon was speaking at the same time, so Sheila would never know if he didn't hear her or simply ignored her. "Sun Zhang, general attack! For the Dragon, charge!"

"_Tennoheika banzai!"_ the cadets shouted, and surged forward.

"_No!"_ Sheila screamed, banging her metal hand on the seat rest in frustration, "_dammit, NO!"_ She flung herself at the Smoke Jaguar _Ryoken._ Now she had to find a way to break through to the Sun Zhang Cadre. "Talisman, refuse the left and keep hold of Tigerstripe! Sasquatch, covering fire!" LRM fire from Chuck Badaxe's _Atlas_ and CeeCee Masterson's _Zeus_ arced over them and impacted among the Clan 'Mechs. The _Ryoken_ backpedaled faster than Sheila could track and disappeared, but twin ruby bolts shot over her head, revealing a new opponent: an egglike _Flashman_, a Star League 'Mech she had only seen in holos, the same tonnage as her _Shruiken_ but much faster and more heavily armed.

She turned to her right so quickly it took a quick stomp of her left foot to keep the _Shruiken_ from falling over. It was effective, though: the _Flashman_'s MechWarrior had been leading her, and his fusillade of laserfire hit long. Sheila triggered both PPCs into its chest, just below the windows of the cockpit. The _Flashman_ staggered and backed off, Sheila taking two steps back and dodging the weak return fire. With heat causing sweat to explode from her pores, she let the PPCs cool and instead fired her array of medium lasers, but the Clan MechWarrior shifted and took the shots on his right arm armor. He pointed his right arm at her and let fly; Sheila felt her _Shruiken_ shudder as armor was blasted from the lower torso and a single jagged rent left across the side of the _Shruiken's_ wolflike head. Alarms went off, warning her that another head shot would probably kill her, but Sheila ignored it. The _Flashman_ was now front on to her and the warrior let loose with nearly everything he had, determined to finish the fight. Sheila moved without conscious thought, shoving both control sticks forward along with her body; the gyro sensed her shift of balance and reacted accordingly. The effect was as if the _Shruiken_ was bowing to the _Flashman_; the lasers sizzled through empty space. Sheila slammed the 'Mech back upright and now had a perfect shot at the smoking craters her PPCs had left before. She jammed her right arm forward and opened fire, triggering three medium lasers for good measure, despite the crippling heat. They found their mark: blue PPC bolts blew away the rest of the armor, coring deep into the chest and finding the _Flashman's_ nuclear heart. Shielding fell away and melted with a flash of purple light, the Clan 'Mech shuddered, then fell backward with a tremendous crash. A quick glance at the chronometer showed that the battle had lasted just over a minute.

"Snowbird! Snowbird!" someone was yelling.

"Snowbird here, identify yourself," she rasped back. Her throat was very dry from the heat and the battle.

"Sorry, Actual, this is Snowbird Three," Kahvi Falx said. Sheila saw her _Dragon_ launch a flight of LRMs at an unseen target. "Nova Actual is down, 300 meters forward your position."

_Damn, they must've got him right at the beginning of the charge._ Sheila took quick stock of the battlefield. There was a terrible melee going on the right flank, where Senefa's company and Max's assaults were engaging that Trinary. The dust and smoke from the battle between the Sun Zhang and the Jaguar Trinary to the front obscured that fight, but on the left she could see the newly dropped Trinary sweeping in to cut off the Sun Zhang 3rd Company, despite being raked by Marion's company. Her ponderous assaults simply could not move fast enough to engage effectively, and the two artillery 'Mechs had ceased firing, afraid of launching artillery on their own 'Mechs. Sheila cursed softly, stunned at how fast a battle could go completely awry. Finally she spotted Satoridon's _Ostroc_, fallen on its side and struggling to get up. A _Champion,_ a 60-ton heavy 'Mech that also dated from the time of the Star League, was closing in to finish him off. "Piss off," Sheila growled, and fired two medium lasers at it to get its attention. It turned, exposing the snout of an autocannon that chattered shells at her along with lasers as well. The lasers missed, but the autocannon smashed armor plates on her upper torso. Sheila let fly with a torrent of curses followed by her PPCs. The aircraft-like jutting chest of the _Champion_ took both shots, but the second missed the cockpit by less than a meter. The Clan warrior began to retreat, only to come under attack by Kahvi's _Dragon_. Sheila let the Kuritan woman have the kill and moved over to Satoridon. On closer inspection, she could see the hip actuator on the left leg was smashed. "Tai-sa, are you all right?" she tightbeamed over to him. There was damage near the head, but it looked like impact damage when the _Ostroc_ had fallen.

"I'm…all right," he replied, a little groggily. "Where's my battalion?"

"Ahead. Listen, Hector," Sheila said, "we've got to pull your cadets out. We've lost this one. Both flanks are gone. My fault; should've been closer. Now we've got to salvage what's left." She put her weapon arm under a shoulder and helped the other 'Mech up.

There was silence for a moment, then she could see him nod through the starred cockpit windows. "You're right, Commander. I've lost my radio. Take command. Do you understand? Take command."

"Roger that." The _Ostroc_ suddenly pushed her 'Mech away. "What the hell?"

"I am still operational, Commander. My men are this way. Save what you can."

Sheila knew what Satoridon was going to do. "Don't do this!" she shouted at him. "Your 'Mech's crippled—you've got to retreat—"

"This isn't your fault, Sheila," he said in a soft voice she would've never expected from Satoridon. "It's mine. I should have listened to you. I will hold them as long as I can." The _Ostroc_ bowed as best it could and limped off into the smoke. Sheila twisted around as another 'Mech surged out of the gloom, only to see it was Max's _Battlemaster_, scarred and blistered in places but very much operational. "Sasquatch, cover me," she radioed, then switched to the common frequency. "All Nova elements, all Nova elements, this is Snowbird. Code word is konchu, repeat, konchu." Konchu was Japanese for bug, as in bugout. "Disengage and fall back to rally point now!"

Sheila wondered if anyone had even heard her, but even as she engaged a _Crab_, she could see Sun Zhang 'Mechs breaking out of the smoke and battle, none of them pristine, some of them barely operational. They came out in small groups, one or two 'Mechs. Sheila had her assault 'Mechs form a cordon and she began walking the Snowbirds back. "Snowbird from Feral," Megan O'Reilly radioed. "What now?"

"Police up what survivors you can and fall back to Toriyama," Sheila replied. Little fire was coming at her 'Mechs now, so she took a chance, triggered her jumpjets, and rose straight up to get a look at what was happening.

Satoridon had evidently reached what was left. There was perhaps a company still standing, still moving, but none of them were making an attempt to break out, though there were enough left that a few might have made it. She spotted his _Ostroc_ for a split-second, then it was gone as a _Masakari_ marched forward and downed it with a fusillade of PPC fire. Visibility, once unlimited in the valley, was now virtually nil from the dust kicked up by a hundred 'Mechs and the fires and explosions of those that were down. The north end of the valley was a maelstrom.

She angled south and landed next to Senefa's _Thunderbolt_, which had taken a few hits but nothing serious. "Should we attack?" Senefa asked. "Is there anything to rescue?"

Sheila considered it, but there weren't many downed Smoke Jaguar 'Mechs. Most of her 'Mechs were lightly damaged, but that would change in a pitched battle very quickly. The Jaguars were expecting a counterattack and had sealed off the battlefield to keep the Snowbirds from reaching the remnants of the Sun Zhang Cadre. She couldn't win Kagoshima here, but she could certainly lose both the planet and her battalion. "Fall back to Toriyama, Senefa. That's all we can do now."

The Jaguars let them go, which didn't make Sheila feel any better.

* * *

Hours later, Sheila sat on the slope of Toriyama. The sun had begun to set behind her and clouds had started to form, promising snow the next day. _Sure,_ Sheila thought bitterly, _when we don't need it._

She looked out over the valley. In the gathering darkness, the northern horizon was lit by the burning fires of Greenfields. The Smoke Jaguars had not come against Toriyama, which hadn't surprised Sheila. From fragments of radio reports, the survivors around Satoridon had lasted almost an hour before finally being overrun, with the last 'Mechs launching one last fruitless attack with ammunition exhausted. After that, there had only been silence, and a lot of indecipherable coded traffic between the 17th Jaguar Regulars and their DropShips in orbit, which probably meant Char Furey was sending out news of a great victory. Furey was apparently in no hurry; Kagoshima City had been evacuated of anything military and the militia ordered to hide their uniforms and weapons, in case the Smoke Jaguars decided to nip a possible resistance in the bud by confiscating weapons and shooting militia officers. It had happened before. As for Toriyama itself, aside from a few high-altitude passes from light fighters that Virginia Lossiemouth had chased off, it seemed safe for now. The rice paddies were seas of mud crossed by only a few easily blocked roads and dikes; Furey would have to wait until they froze again before he could move against Toriyama. That and Satoridon's sacrifice had bought them time. Sheila wondered if she should use it to continue to fortify Kagoshima or load up what she could on her DropShips and evacuate Kagoshima entirely.

She brought her knees up to her chin, resting it on them. She didn't move from that position, even as Max sat next to her, handing her a food pack. "It's Mongolian beef," he told her.

"Not hungry."

He cracked open a soda. "You'd better eat before you pass out." He followed his own advice; Sheila picked at hers. "How long do you think we have?"

"A day or two. If we get a hard freeze tomorrow, he'll come then." Sheila smashed a rock with her metal fist. "_Damn_ it, Max. How the hell did we get into this?"

"We lost the battle."

"You make it sound so matter-of-fact. You forget that we left Mary Scott back there?"

Max stared back at her. "That is a hell of a thing for you to say to me."

Sheila realized she was taking out her frustrations on her husband. "Sorry," she said quietly. "It's just…I've never had things go to hell so quick. One minute, it looks like we've got it under control, and the next, I'm organizing a bugout."

Max nodded. It had changed quickly, and it had happened because they had underestimated the Smoke Jaguars—or rather overestimated their ability to deal with them. Sheila admitted to herself that she had thought Char Furey another Erik Kerensky or Athena Henderson, an easily-rattled, easily-upset enemy that she could exploit. Instead, Furey had set up a masterful ambush, and the fact that he had "cheated" according to Clan custom meant nothing. The maxim of a MechWarrior was to lie, cheat, and steal in the cockpit and leave honor for the historians. He had annilihated the Sun Zhang Cadre as much as Hannibal had destroyed the Romans at Cannae: an initial count of cadets that had broken out or been dragged out came to only thirteen MechWarriors and ten 'Mechs, out of the 36 cadets and machines that had marched into Greenfields. Of the Snowbirds, only two had been lost, Michelangelo Burke and Mary Scott. Burke had been able to eject from his destroyed _Grasshopper _and was picked up on the fly by a quick-thinking Tooriu Kku. Mary Scott's captured _Puma_ had been lost somewhere in the melee on the right flank when she had charged in to finish off a crippled Clan _Hermes._ Senefa had seen her go down, but nothing else; they didn't know if Mary had been hit by the Jaguars or by friendly fire, or if she was alive or dead. The Smoke Jaguars were intermittent on prisoners, but they had the worst reputation among the Clans. Mary's loss hurt Sheila the most, because Scott had joined the Snowbirds despite the fact that she and Sheila loathed each other, especially after Blackjack. Mary Scott had simply wanted to fight, and had done well with the Snowbirds. The two of them had rarely spoke, but from what Sheila understood, Mary had no longer borne Sheila a grudge. Now it was too late to find out, unless the Jaguars had somehow taken her prisoner and hadn't simply shot her out of hand, if she had even survived.

"I blew it," Sheila sighed.

"We couldn't have saved them," Max assured her.

"That's not what I meant," she replied, though that weighed heavily on her mind as well. What if she had reorganized the Snowbirds, charged in, and tried to rescue what remained of the Sun Zhang Cadre? Would she have simply doomed her battalion to the same death, or snatched victory from the jaws of defeat? She didn't know, could never really know, and she hated that. "I mean from the start. I should've been closer to Satoridon. We should have deployed later than we did, or I should've organized it so our assaults were a lot closer to the point of contact than they were…dammit, Max, why couldn't I convince Satoridon to fight somewhere else?"

"Sheila, there's an old saying we had at NAMA: sometimes you count the meat, sometimes the meat counts you."

She paused at that. "You trying to say we can't win 'em all?"

"No. I'm saying that sometimes you can have the perfect plan and the other guy can still whip you."

"We didn't have the perfect plan, Max."

"Yeah, well…it doesn't really matter now, Sheila. All that matters is we're here." He patted the dusty ground of Toriyama. "I went crying home to my dad when I was eight after we lost a Little League game. He told me, 'Yep, you lost—beat 'em next time.'"

Sheila smiled despite herself. Max could be ruthlessly pragmatic at times. He was right, though: she had to make a decision. "Think we should just retreat offplanet?" Sheila knew what she wanted to do, but wanted Max's opinion.

Max finished his food and washed it down with the soda. "I don't know, Sheila. One part of me says that yeah, let's get, we've done our bit. We may be outnumbered now and we're probably outgunned. Put this one in the loss column and call it a day." He leaned back and returned her smile. "But another part of me looks around this place and says, 'Yeah, we can hold here.' Maybe, just maybe, Sheila, we can beat them." He waved his hands around, taking in Toriyama. "That's a steep hill, and they've got to slog through those rice paddies to even get close. If they try the road, we can hold that pass pretty easy. This is a good spot. I think we shouldn't just give up because we lost one battle."

"'The battle is completely lost,'" Sheila said, "'but it is only two o'clock; we have time to gain another today.'" She stood up and brushed off the rear of her jumpsuit. "General Louis Desaix said that to Napoleon during the Battle of Marengo."

"Napoleon won that one."

She helped him to his feet. "Yeah, but Desaix got killed." She spotted Kahvi running towards them. "Hey, Kahvi, what's up?"

"You've got to stop him," Kahvi said breathlessly.

"Stop who?"

"Tai-i Noribetsu. He's going to commit seppuku."

"Oh, shit," Max said for both of them, and they ran after Kahvi towards the nearest hangar.

* * *

Of the ten officers in the Cadre, three had survived. Senior was Miroku Usagi, the officer Marion had more or less befriended in the bar on Christmas, but he was wounded and unconscious, having had to eject from an exploding _Marauder_, though he had been rescued by Jinjiro Gramakov, one of the junior lieutenants, a cadet hurriedly raised to officer status because of his superb grades. Gramakov had lost his entire lance, but had managed to fight his way out. That left Tai-i Hohiro Noribetsu as the senior surviving and unwounded officer of the Sun Zhang Cadre. He had actually done quite well, being one of the first to realize that the left flank had collapsed; he had turned and broken through, covered by Marion Rhialla's guns. Only one of his lance had failed to get out. Nonetheless, with Satoridon dead, Usagi out, and Oshima missing in action, he was now in command of the pitiful remnant.

The cultural divide still existed between the Snowbirds and the cadets: the Cadre had taken over one of the old abandoned hangars and parked their surviving 'Mechs there, and the Snowbirds had to this point ignored them, concentrating more on preparing for an all-around defense of Toriyama and if necessary clearing ground for the _Minerva_ and the _Cambrai_ to land and pick them up. Noribetsu had explained to the survivors his intention to expunge what shame he could from the loss at Greenfields, and they had taken the appropriate preparations. A white cushion was found somewhere and set up on the filthy hangar floor, which was cleaned as best it could be. Noribetsu was due to graduate from Sun Zhang in the spring and therefore had not received his katana and wakizashi sword that cadets were presented upon graduation, but Noribetsu had carried his father's swords into combat, which was good enough. He had bathed, dressed in his uniform—the traditional white kimono could not be found—and waited on the cushion. To his left was an ink-block, brush, and blank ricepaper for his death haiku. Noribetsu had offered Gramakov to be his _kaishaku-nin_, his second, despite the fact that the two had disliked each other. Gramakov had angrily refused, seeing it as a waste, an attitude that shocked the other survivors—but then again, Gramakov was a halfbreed and couldn't be expected to understand. Instead, another senior cadet, Saburo Soryu, had agreed to the job. His katana had been cleaned and sharpened.

Noribetsu drained a cup of warmed sake in the requisite four sips and handed it back to the woman who carried it—one of the few female cadets in the Cadre. She went behind a Kurita flag that had been put behind Noribetsu for the occasion and returned with his wakizashi, the shortsword wrapped in ricepaper, except for the glittering tip. She knelt, set the sword before him, bowed, and retreated backwards to sit with the other cadets. Noribetsu sighed, opened his kimono, and picked up the sword.

"For the loss at Greenfields today, and the dishonor of surviving when I should have died with my commander, I, Hohiro Noribetsu, will commit seppuku. It is my hope that this act will cleanse the school of the shame of having lost a battle to gaijin invaders. I ask that Lord Kurita be informed of our sacrifice here, and accept this apology." He bowed deeply to them and they returned it. Noribetsu turned the blade so that it faced his stomach. He had asked Soryu to wait until he had made both cuts, rather than simply being decapitated when he bent over to make the stabbing thrust. He steeled himself, knowing it would be horribly painful, and prayed that he would have the strength to keep from crying out.

Then someone did cry out. "_Stop this!"_ Sheila shouted, followed by a loud "_Iye!"_ from Kahvi. Noribetsu stopped, just for a moment, and Sheila and Max dashed forward. Noribetsu, now more afraid he would be stopped, pushed the sword towards his stomach, but Sheila just managed to get hold of his hand with her steel one. The fingers closed around his wrist, nearly breaking it, and the hangar was silent as they struggled, Noribetsu fighting Sheila, the tip already drawing blood. Sweat broke out on their foreheads as they struggled, but finally Sheila prevailed. Noribetsu, defeated, sagged backwards, dropping the wakizashi with a clatter to the hangar floor; Soryu stepped back, having raised the sword but blocked by Max putting himself between the two Kurita officers.

"You have dishonored me." Noribetsu was almost in tears.

Sheila stood, looked down at him, and suddenly, angrily, kicked the wakizashi across the room. There was a roar of disapproval and the cadets surged forwards towards them, but were stopped—not by Sheila, but by Kahvi. "What do you think you're doing?" she yelled.

"You!" one of the cadets shouted back. "You don't belong here, traitor!"

"That's just about fucking enough," Sheila snapped, commanding instant silence. She turned on Noribetsu. "You think one more dead samurai is going to square things? _Do you?_" she demanded. Noribetsu didn't look at her. She looked back at the crowd. "The only dishonor here is this ceremony. Men died to buy us time today, and all you can do is use the time to commit suicide. You dishonor your school, you dishonor your House, and you dishonor _me._"

Sheila felt more enraged than she ever had been, wasn't sure exactly why, but didn't care. She pointed at them. "You call yourselves samurai? The only real samurai in this room is this woman right here." She nodded towards Kahvi, who looked as shocked as the cadets. "You treated her abominably, you silenced her, you forced her to flee her own country, but did she just give up and slit her guts? No! She put everything on one throw of the dice, to the point where she'd become a mercenary, just for a chance to get back at the Clans. Meanwhile, you sit here crying like babies and talk about killing yourselves because you can't handle it!"

"We lost friends today!" the female cadet cried. "We lost the battle!"

"Yes, you did," Sheila shot back, "but tell me which is better: running away, or standing and fighting?" The cadet didn't answer, so Sheila screamed, "_Tell me, dammit!"_

"Standing…standing and fighting," the cadet answered.

"Well done. Because that's what we're going to do here." Sheila looked at all of them, and noticed Elfa and Senefa had come to the front entrance of the hangar, armed. "We lost a fight today. But we can still win the campaign. We're on solid ground here at Toriyama.

"Right now, the Smoke Jaguars are celebrating their victory. But as long as there's still a Kurita soldier or a Snowbird on Kagoshima, they haven't won shit. They've still got to take this mountain. They're not going to, because we're going to chop them up on the slopes."

"But how?" Soryu asked. "Our 'Mechs are shot up. Some of us are Dispossessed. Their 'Mechs are so much faster than ours."

"Speed won't mean anything on that slope," Max told him.

"And we've got remounts," Elfa added. "I made sure we cleaned out the 'Mech bays today. I can put everybody back in 'Mechs." She didn't mention that ammunition was in short supply. "We've got a good amount of spares, and the techs to fix things."

"How do we defend Toriyama?" another cadet asked. "Even with 'Mechs…there's nothing in our studies that talks about a static defense."

"It's rather simple," Sheila replied. "We pile up the rocks. We build barriers. Anything a MechWarrior can stay alive behind. Then when they come up the hill, we blow them apart." She faced them squarely now. "Now, here's what you're going to do. You're going to take off those uniforms. You're going to put on fatigues. And you're going to start working. There's going to be no suicides on this hill. If you've got to die, you're going to take at least one of those Clanners with you. Do you understand me?" They nodded.

"Your Commander asked a question!" Kahvi shouted, like a drill sergeant, which sounded strange coming from someone who was normally very quiet. "Answer it!"

"_HAI, TONO!"_ The response was automatic, ingrained from the moment they entered Sun Zhang as plebe cadets, but it brought back the familiar and restored spirits.

"Dismissed then. Major Brownoak, find some work for samurai."

"Right." Elfa turned and motioned for the cadets to follow, like some pregnant Pied Piper. "I'll find some work for mercenaries, too. Come on, Senefa." she called over her shoulder. Senefa chuckled and followed as well. Soryu hesitated, and Sheila held out her hand for the sword. He sheathed it, presented it with a bow, and left the hangar to catch up with the others.

Noribetsu shakily got to his feet. "I…don't know…whether to thank you or curse you," he finished.

"Don't do either," Sheila said. She took the katana, put it into the belt of his kimono, and sniched it shut. "I need commanders, Hohiro-san. I've got corpses aplenty. Your lance needs you. _I_ need you. Okay?"

"All right," Noribetsu replied softly. "It's…hard." He bit his lip to stop from crying. "I was prepared…I was going to do it."

"We know," Sheila told him. Kahvi had picked up the wakizashi, brushed it off, and found the sheath. She gave it back to Noribetsu as well. "MechWarrior Falx, why don't you help the lieutenant and find him someplace to sleep? He probably needs some rest right now."

"Ah…yes, ma'am." She reflexively bowed to Sheila and hesitantly took Noribetsu's arm. They half-hobbled out, but at the edge of the hangar, Noribetsu gently pushed her away and walked on his own. She stayed beside him nonetheless.

"Good speech," Max told her. They were alone now in the hangar.

"Not yet. If we win, it was a good one." Sheila sighed, and picked up the cushion. "Let's go. There's a lot to do today."


	6. Snowbird's Walls

_AUTHOR'S NOTES: This story's coming together better and easier than I thought. I should be able to tool along pretty good until the end of next week, which begins finals week…and then I get to do a lot of grading. Oh happy day. This is going to be a somewhat short chapter, since the next one involves both Sheila's meeting with Rainbow Levine and an air battle! The aerojocks don't get enough attention in Battletech, so I think it's time I write in an air skirmish._

_Yep, all kinds of references to _Zulu _in here, and maybe a few of the Battle of the Alamo. _

_I've also put up Sheila's map of Toriyama on DeviantArt, so you can check that out if you want something a little less confusing than text to reference. Just look up my name (Sentinel 28A) and it should be right there. And no, that's not an effort to increase traffic at my DA page…though I do have drawings of some of the Snowbird ladies there…_

_REVIEWER'S CORNER:_

_Rogue: I'm sensing some hostility towards Kurita here…nah, Noribetsu will be around awhile longer. He doesn't get off that easy._

_Pacificuser/Bien: I'll pass that on to my dad, but "siring"? That makes me feel like a horse! ;)_

_Mosin: Furey's not a dummy (or is he? Hmm), but Sheila did push him into breaking his bid. I don't want to make Sheila into some perfect Mary Sue; she screws up in spades sometimes. As far as the Kuritans, there's definitely a cultural divide there. The cadets charged right into a trap, and someone's going to have to explain that to Takashi Kurita. Noribetsu decided that the Coordinator might not kick them out of the DCMS or posthoumously punish Satoridon if someone took responsibility and committed seppuku._

_FraserMage: I was just saying, you want Sheila to put Levine's bunch on a wall and shoot them! That's pretty Smoke Jaguar. (Of course, this isn't to say that Sheila might not _want _to put Levine on a wall sometime very soon.)_

_Panzerfaust: Ahh, that's who Sepp Kraft was. It's been awhile since I read _A Bridge Too Far. _I thought you might be confusing him with the more well-known all-around asshole Sepp Dietrich._

_Flashpoint: The Snowbirds have lost a few before this (the battle where Senefa took Sheila prisoner, and the pit-fight on New Caledonia was pretty much a draw). Sheila's not used to being outsmarted, but she's been beaten before._

_SulliMike: Yeah, everybody hates the Smoke Jaguars. No one can say they don't deserve it to a certain extent._

_MUSIC CORNER: Theme from _The Longest Day, "_Sam at the Lake" from _Transformers, _and "Ivory Tower" from _The Neverending Story.

* * *

_Toriyama _

_Kagoshima, Pesht District, Draconis Combine_

_29 December 3051_

_Sho-sa_ Miroku Usagi gingerly put weight on the bandaged foot and found he could walk on it if he was careful and leaned on the cane. He grimaced up at Sheila. "I was hoping I had at least a few more years before I would need a cane." He looked worse than he actually was—he had broken his ankle in the high-speed ejection, but the rest of his injuries were limited to bumps and bruises.

Sheila smiled. She liked Usagi, who reminded her a lot of Marion Rhialla or some of her best Nagelring instructors. A man like this would be a terror to poor students, but the best friend a good student could ever have. "Do you need a hand?"

"No, that is fine, thank you. I will survive." He took a few steps with more confidence and followed Sheila out of the makeshift hospital—it was actually an old barracks. "The question is, can I still pilot a 'Mech? You will need all you can."

_Isn't that the truth,_ Sheila thought. One of her lances was still short, and that was only because Michelangelo Burke had managed to "find" a _Panther_ and she had robbed the Sun Zhang Cadre of one of its lieutenants, Jinjiro Gramakov, to fill out another lance. That hadn't overly affected the Cadre, since they had thirteen surviving MechWarriors and therefore could afford to lose one.

Usagi squinted as he came out into the sunshine. The wind was biting, but it was still unseasonably warm; the snow had barely lasted an hour and had melted almost instantly. "I hope that my people have not given you any trouble, Commander."

"None at all, sir. They've been quite receptive, after the, ah, incident."

"You handled that well enough. I was glad to see that the Snowbirds didn't retreat. I half expected you to."

"Can't leave the game when there's still a few quarters to play, sir."

Usagi nodded. "I agree. And by the way, Commander, please, no reason to call me sir. You are in command here."

"Are you sure?" Sheila asked. "You're senior to me."

"Yes, but you command the bulk of our forces here. I don't know you well enough and you don't know me to run a divided command effectively. You have chosen the ground and made your preparations already. I've been bedridden and out of it for over 72 hours. Therefore, you're in command, Commander Arla-Vlata." His smile widened. "Now, make an old man feel better about handing over what may be his last battle to a twenty-year old." Sheila actually was only nineteen, but didn't feel like correcting Usagi.

Sheila told him what had happened since the disaster at Greenfields—and there was a lot to tell. After six hours of fitful sleep, Sheila had awoken to find that the Smoke Jaguars had only advanced halfway to Kagoshima City, a bare twenty kilometers. She had expected that Star Colonel Char Furey would at least quickly seize the planetary capital and the main DropPort, but apparently success had stunned the Smoke Jaguars. From scouts sent out to covertly watch them, and Virginia Lossiemouth's aerial patrols, the 17th Jaguar Regulars were advancing very cautiously, obviously expecting an ambush at any point. They knew that the Snowbirds had escaped Greenfields almost completely intact, and apparently Sheila's reputation preceded her.

She had put the time to good use. The first order of business, if she was to have a chance against the Smoke Jaguars, was to get as much ammunition and supplies as she could. There she was helped by Elfa Brownoak's efforts before the battle: Elfa had been steadily buying food from the local villages at a prodigious rate, charging everything to the DCMS; the Jaguars would find bare shelves in the Kamuri Valley. She and Nicia Caii had also stripped the Sun Zhang Academy's 'Mech bays of all they could, so there was ammunition and spare parts, enough to completely replenish and restore the surviving 'Mechs to full capacity—and keep them that way for one battle. Finally, Elfa had found that the locals, either the farmers in the valley or, more likely, Rainbow Levine's community, had filled the old fuel tank farm at the airfield with distilled water; there were also deep wells around. That made Sheila feel much better: most sieges were decided when the defenders either ran out of food or water. Ammunition was less of a problem than it might have been, since all of her 'Mechs and most of the tanks had lasers and PPCs to one extent or another.

Next, Sheila had moved her DropShips, the _Minerva_ and _Cambrai,_ to the airfield. While DropShips were more vulnerable to 'Mechs than most people assumed, they still bristled with weaponry and would make a potent force multiplier for the defense of Toriyama. They could also provide medical facilities, a place to sleep, and some reaction fuel for Lossiemouth's fighters.

Finally, Sheila had found Chu-sa Lee Nakamura. In theory, Nakamura outranked both her and Usagi, but he was a political, an officer on Theodore Kurita's staff. He was a MechWarrior in theory, but they lacked any further remounts, and he had no experience in fighting large-scale battles, so he had relinquished command to Sheila rather quickly. What he did have was contacts, which allowed Elfa to buy virtually anything she wanted on government credit, and most importantly, he had access and codekeys to a fax machine.

Sheila had used small fax machines, of course, but had only heard rumors about the strategic version. The Inner Sphere largely depended on ComStar's hyperpulse generators to communicate between planets, which also left them vulnerable to ComStar interdiction, when the quasi-religious company would simply shut down its HPGs and refuse their use to Houses that displeased them. It could be devastating to a war effort, since the House leaders and commanders could not communicate with their forces on distant worlds. In an effort to end the Fourth Succession War, ComStar had interdicted House Davion in 3030, only to find that Davion was still somehow communicating with its units, albeit at a much reduced level. It was not until Sheila was in her junior year in the Nagelring, almost twenty years later, that it was finally declassified that House Davion had developed a fax machine that could communicate from planet to planet. It took weeks and months for a signal to travel, instead of hours and days via ComStar HPGs, but it was better than nothing, and it also kept ComStar from knowing what the Federated Commonwealth was up to. During the War of 3039, House Kurita had captured a fax machine and reverse-engineered it, giving them the same advantages.

Luckily, Kagoshima had one—not for strategic purposes, Nakamura told Sheila, but to keep grades confidential when beaming them back to the main campus on faraway New Samarkand. It was lucky because ComStar had shut down their HPG generator the moment word got out of the defeat at Greenfields. ComStar typically did so on worlds captured by the Clans, supposedly under duress, since the Clans had their own portable HPGs and didn't need ComStar; however, Sheila and many other Inner Sphere defenders were coming to believe that ComStar actually did so in an effort to assist the Clans, though why they did so when the Clans were aiming for ComStar's one and only planetary holding, Terra itself, was unknown. In any case, the Precentor on Kagoshima had jumped the gun, shutting down his HPG and refusing to restart it even after a personal call from Sheila informing him that Kagoshima was not yet taken. That might've spelled an end to the defense of the world, since Sheila didn't think she could hold off a whole Cluster by herself. But with the fax machine, Nakamura had sent a quick message to Luthien, asking for assistance. Given that Luthien was either under attack or soon would be, chances were they could send no help, but they might could communicate with someone that could. Nothing had come back yet, so Sheila had no idea how long they would have to hold.

That was one advantage she did have. The Clans, especially the Smoke Jaguars, were trained for short, vicious battles that emphasized mobility and raw hitting power. They weren't trained in siege tactics, since the internecine warfare that the Clans constantly practiced rarely degenerated into sieges. Furey might take his time taking Kagoshima City, which he had two days after winning Greenfields, and trying to find Toriyama, which he had that evening, but once the siege started in earnest, he would get impatient, make a few ill-advised attacks, and then hopefully give up in frustration.

Of course, all that depended on Sheila holding Toriyama, and that would not be easy. She had 48 BattleMechs, twelve tanks, and a platoon of jump infantry to hold a mesa that was six kilometers wide from west to east, and four kilometers long north to south. It would've been impossible except for the arrival of five companies of Kagoshima's militia. More might've been available, but with the loss of Kagoshima City and the Jaguars sealing off the Kamuri Valley, there had been no more time. In any case, Sheila had plenty of food, but not enough to feed a great number of people for any length of time. Nor was it any real comfort that the militia that had arrived were either older men and women who had last seen action in 3039, if then, or young people who had seen no action at all. Kurita militia was not given much training anyway, because militia might take it in their heads to rebel; their job was mainly to die valiantly to buy time for the regular forces. Still, they were enthusiastic enough, and if their armament consisted of assault rifles and a handful of obsolete recoilless rifles and mortars, they were warm bodies, and they were mostly farmers—and therefore used to hard work.

And hard work was what Elfa and Sheila had in mind. The Jaguars would find the slopes hard going as it was, but Sheila didn't intend to make it easy on them when they got to the top. She had the militia, with a few bulldozers "liberated" from the town of Iwakuni near the mesa and 'Mech hands, building a ten foot high wall of packed earth, with firing steps built inside for the infantry. This would absorb fire from the slope, while still allowing the defending 'Mechs to fire back, and present a real problem once the Jaguars hit the wall itself. They could blow holes in the wall, but that would take time. Sheila had no illusions that the wall would really stop the Jaguars, but it would delay them long enough for her to shift reserves to the point of attack.

Sheila was surprised to find just how ingenious her troops were. Elfa had made it a competition of sorts to come up with new ideas, and the Snowbirds, Sun Zhang cadets, and militia eagerly responded. Sheila had woken up that morning to find that entire buildings at the airfield had been torn down and their materials used to reinforce the wall. Places on the face of the mesa had been undermined and booby-trapped with the limited explosives Kinosh's infantry still had; the explosion wouldn't hurt a 'Mech much, but they would dislodge huge sections of karst and cause small landslides to break up attacks. I-beams and rebar taken from the demolished buildings were being planted in the walls as an abatis, though Sheila wasn't sure what that would do to BattleMechs. It looked fearsome, though. Elfa even had militia out digging holes in the slopes where the karst was more stable, hoping to build 'Mech sized tiger pits. When a militia lieutenant had suggested pouring oil in front of the wall and setting it on fire, Sheila had finally started to veto ideas, but she allowed work on the traps and the abatis to continue, because busy people didn't think about the odds.

* * *

Usagi was suitably impressed. "You've done a lot over the past three days. Do the Smoke Jaguars know about it?"

"Maybe." Sheila shrugged. "They've run some high-level recon and certainly their DropShips can probably sight in on us in orbit, but that's it. Our own recon has seen them looking around the entrances to the Kamuri Valley, but so far they haven't come in. I don't know why…the only thing we've been able to come up with is that Furey doesn't know what to do. He planned on the one big battle, but now that he's facing a long campaign, he's trying to figure out how to handle it." She chuckled dryly. "Either that, or he's rustling up a WarShip that will simply come over and drop a nuke on us from orbit."

"That would certainly be one sure way to end the campaign." Usagi doubted it and Sheila did as well, but the Jaguars were capable of anything. A Clan that had once obliterated an entire city on Turtle Bay to quell a resistance movement wouldn't be very circumspect about using a tactical nuclear weapon on a fortress.

They came up to a group of officers gathered near the water tanks, in the shadow of the immense _Minerva._ All of them came to attention at Sheila's and Usagi's approach: Max, Tessya, Elfa, Senefa, Megan O'Reilly, Marion, Tooriu, Peter Nicholas, David Moore, Virginia Lossiemouth, Nicia Caii, and Nisa Kinosh of the Snowbirds; of the Cadre, there was Hohiro Noribetsu, Saburo Soryu, and, to Usagi's surprise, Akihiro Oshima. "Oshima-san, it is good to see you," Usagi told him, and bowed.

Oshima, who wore a bandage on his left cheek, returned the bow. "The honor is mine, Usagi-sama." He gave his commander a quick briefing on what had happened: he had become disoriented in the final melee at Greenfields, and led a breakout with three of the cadets. Only he had made it to the hills east of the battlefield, and his 'Mech was destroyed by strafing Jaguar Aerofighters as night fell. Knocked unconscious, he had woken up, abandoned his 'Mech, and made his way to Toriyama with the help of local farmers. "I arrived just this morning, sir. Thankfully, Commander Arla-Vlata made available to me the last of the remounts, a _Panther, _so I will not be Dispossessed. If you'll have me, Sho-sa, I'd like to take command of one of our remaining lances." Usagi noticed no trace of Oshima's former smugness; in fact, the officer looked rather defeated.

Usagi looked from Oshima to Senefa. "I must ask this, because I do not want us to be distracted by a duel. Have you resolved your matters with Lance Commander Malthus?"

"I have not, sir. We have agreed to postpone our duel until after the battle, if we both survive."

Senefa nodded. "Such things can wait."

Usagi could tell that Sheila was not too pleased about this, and neither were the other Snowbirds with the exception of Senefa. Honor was nonetheless satisfied, and he turned his mind to other matters. "Men of the Cadre, I've turned over command to Arla-Vlata-san. I expect you to obey her orders as quickly and as competently as you would obey those of the Coordinator himself." Usagi brooked no argument and turned to Sheila. "We await your orders, Commander."

"That's what we're here for." Sheila brushed off a section of dirt and used her finger to trace out a rough outline of Toriyama; she smiled to herself over the primitive method of mapping out the mesa's defense. In an age of holomaps and computer databases, she was using the same ways of Alexander and Napoleon. For some reason, that made her feel better. She used a few rocks to pick out terrain features, and held a stack of notecards with lance designations written on them. "Gather 'round," she told them, "here's my idea for what we should do."

First, Sheila pointed at the north face. "I think they're going to make their first attack here. It's the most direct approach, and I don't think Furey's going to mess around with trying to flank us—not a first." Noribetsu raised a hand, so Sheila nodded at him.

"Then we're giving up the Kamuri Valley _and_ the Chickugo River crossings without a fight?" he asked.

"I'm afraid so," she answered. "We just don't have the manpower, and any isolated defenses would be quickly overrun. Besides, that might give them a false sense of confidence. The rice paddies are going to freeze over soon, so we can't count on those slowing down the Jaguars. Okay?"

"Hai, Chu-sa." Sheila noticed that Noribetsu was using the Kurita rank for a battalion commander.

"In any case, here's what I want on the north face." She pointed to a rock she had placed pointed –end up, and placed the card marked _SB/BH_. "Senefa, I want your lance right here, anchoring our left. There's a nice flat ledge on this rock, and it's strong enough to hold a heavy 'Mech. You'll have a commanding view of the whole valley. I want you to act as a sniper, with your lance backing you up; if you run low on ammo, Maysa can replace you. How does that sound?"

"Rather interesting," Senefa smiled wolfishly. Sheila returned it. That placed the two best shots in the Snowbirds in a spot for maximum advantage.

Sheila placed more cards down. "Marion, you'll command the left flank, right here, to Senefa's right. I'll be right next to you, then Max's assaults. That'll anchor the line on both flanks with assault 'Mechs.

"Usagi-san, I'd like you to deploy your company from Max's right flank to Gateway Rock—that's the mountain over there." She pointed at the karst outcropping that split the east end of the mesa into two approaches; the badly-maintained road that led from the airfield and Levine's village to the valley floor wound around the south end. "If it's all right with you, I wanted to put you in two-up, one back, with Ni and San Lances up front and your command lance behind. You'll guard the northeast approach. Is that all right?"

"I agree with the formation, but not with the assignments." He painfully bent down and rearranged the cards. "Ni Lance is too light to hold the line, but my Command Lance, as you showed me in the barracks, would be more suited to doing so. Ni Lance will form my operational reserve."

"Okay. Any questions so far?"

Peter Nicholas held up a hand. "Yeah. Where do you want me?"

"Over here." She pointed just south of the rock. "You'll tie in with Senefa and protect the western face." His disappointment showed on his face, so Sheila told him, "You're going to be the only 'Mech lance on the west side, so it's up to you to hold the line if the Jaguars come that way. It's a hard slope, but jumping 'Mechs could make it. Furey might try that if he can't get through from the north or east." Nicholas brightened at that; he wanted the responsibility.

"I take it that's where we'll be at," Moore said.

"Yep." Sheila stuck some pebbles into the map to represent Levine's village. "We'll dig fighting positions for your command platoon and Cassidy's tank platoon in the village. They've got pretty solid concrete buildings over there, so that'll give you good protection. I expect you to turn that place into a deathtrap."

"I have no problem with that," Moore answered, "but what about this Levine femme? She's the peacenik type, or so I've heard. She's going to be pissed if I start parking tanks in her flower garden."

"I'll handle Levine." Sheila was not looking forward to that meeting, but something did have to be done about it, both for the mesa's defense, for Levine and her community's safety, and Sheila's sanity. So far, they had steered clear of the village and made sure the walls stopped well short of its limits, but the villagers had been watching the construction like hawks, Levine among them.

She returned to her briefing, putting Levine in a box in her mind. "Tessya, your lance is too light to get mixed up on the north or west faces, so I'm putting you on the southern slope. It's basically a sheer cliff there, but Elementals might be able to make it up there. You're mainly going to act as a tripwire force—if anyone attacks the south face, and you don't think you can handle them, let me know and I'll send someone over.

"Megan, you'll be guarding the gate to the base in the southeast corner. If Furey attacks to the north of Gateway Rock, he's going to run head on into the Sun Zhang, so he'll probably try to get around to the south. Once again, you're the tripwire. If you see something coming at you and you need help, ask for it."

"You bet. Tripwire is fine, but I don't want to be a speed bump," O'Reilly said from around her cigar. Sheila found it distinctly unfeminine, O'Reilly's tendency to chew and occasionally smoke a cigar, but said nothing.

"Where am I?" Tooriu asked.

"I'm putting you and Shasti Buena in the center. You both have artillery, so by sticking you in the middle of the mesa, you can range just about anywhere. How are we set for arty ammo, Nicia?"

Nicia hesitated just a moment before answering, almost like an overworked computer experiencing lag time. It was an apt analogy, Sheila thought, given that Nicia had not slept more than five hours since she had come to Toriyama. "Not so good. We've got about twenty rounds of HE and ten rounds of Willy Pete for Griffon's Sniper." She referred to high explosive and white phosphorus, respectively. "The _Catapult_ and the _Spartan_ have twelve rounds between them of Arrow IV missile, all unguided HE." She looked around the crowd of officers. "This is as good a time as any to mention this. We've got enough ammo for one big battle or a few small ones, but that's it. So be real careful with your ammunition. You've all got full magazines, but that's all you have. The only ammo I've got in quantity is Gauss balls, rifle rounds, and mortar shells."

"Mortars?" Nicholas asked. "What good are they?"

"They can kill Elementals," Caii answered acidly. "And if you can get the angle just right, you can land a head shot on some smartass MechWarrior who thinks infantry can't hurt him."

"Geez, sorry," Nicholas replied defensively.

"Let's be nice," Sheila warned. "Anyway, Tooriu, once you guys run out of missiles, you become part of the operational reserve—Elfa, that's your command. The Jaguars will break through at some point, so your job is to plug the gaps."

"I was hoping you weren't going to sideline me," Elfa said.

"No offense, Sho-sa Brownoak," Noribetsu said politely, "but can you pilot a 'Mech in your, ah, condition?"

"I'll need a shoehorn, but I can get in and fight better than you."

"Oh ho!" Noribetsu laughed, taking it as the joke it was. "Please don't go into labor, Brownoak-sama."

"I'll do my best."

"That leaves just the infantry," Sheila spoke, getting them back on track. "Nisa, you won't be deploying with David. I want you on top of Gateway Rock. Your jump packs will allow you to move all over that thing; 'Mechs can't get at you up there, but Elementals can. You can also call in artillery from up there—Senefa's going to be a little busy."

"Okay," Kinosh agreed, then said, "What about the militia?"

"Soryu, that's your play," Sheila said to the Kurita officer. Though Soryu was the same age as Sheila, he had volunteered to command the militia; unlike the others, he was from Kagoshima and knew many of the militia officers. The normal commander of the militia lived elsewhere on the planet and hadn't been able to get to Toriyama in time. The five company commanders of the militia were indifferent, but there were good sergeants. If they didn't break under the first attack, they would be fine. Nonetheless, Sheila said, "I'm spreading them out from the village to Gateway Rock. Nisa, their 4th Company is the most experienced, so they'll be next to you; the 1st Company is pretty good too, so Dave, those are yours. The rest are getting spread out along the south face. Hopefully we won't need them. Soryu-san, your job is to make sure they hold the line there. Something tells me that Furey's going to try to pull a fast one with his Elementals."

"Hai, Chu-sa." Soryu tried to look upbeat, but Sheila could tell he wasn't exactly optimistic. He would have plenty of support, but pitting rifle-armed militia against armored Elementals was a gross mismatch, and they all knew it.

"Finally, we've got the two DropShips. I've placed them so the _Minerva_ can support the north wall and the _Cambrai_ can support Megan at the gate. It's not as much as it sounds, since their guns can only depress so far, but it's better than nothing. Nisa, the DropShips can also support you on Gateway Rock, but be sure you get real small in your foxholes if they open up. DropShip gunsights are calibrated for aerofighters, not infantry, so they're just going to be shooting the hell out of that mountain." Kinosh nodded.

"An' speakin' o' the fighters…" Lossiemouth reminded Sheila.

"Well, I was going to leave that to you, Ginny."

"Ah. Well, here's the dealie, boyos and girlos." Lossiemouth folded her arms across her chest. "We canna operate from the runways here; just nae enough room for all ten o' me fighters, so I'm just leavin' two here at a time. However, there is a field 'cross the bay, aboot an hour flyin' time from here. We'll maintain a combat air patrol 24-7, wi' an alert five o'er Toriyama Bay, an' everyone else at the other field. We've got plenty o'fuel at the other base, but nae air-tae-ground bombs 'n' such. Most we kin do for ye is strafin' passes."

"Hell, that's pretty damn good," Tooriu said. The MechWarriors nodded: an aerofighter could pack a punch, and a strafing run, while dangerous to the fighter pilot because of return fire, could wreck an assault column.

"Aye, but remember that we've only got twenty minutes o'er here. We're settin' up refueling stations from the DropShips, but there's a limit tae that. Our job is makin' sure the Jags canna strafe or bomb ye."

"Which is good enough for me," Sheila said. "Any questions?"

There were a few, but only one was major, and it came surprisingly from Nicia, who suggested that a second, fall-back line be constructed running across the middle of the mesa. If either the west or east sides went, the defenders could retreat to there, which would give them less ground to defend. There really was no question of retreat: loading DropShips under fire was difficult at best, and assuming they could even do that, the sheer firepower the Jaguars could pour into the DropShips as they took off would probably destroy them. The Snowbirds would hold Toriyama or die in the attempt.


	7. The Price

_AUTHOR'S NOTES: I actually would've had this chapter done a lot sooner, had I not caught the mother of all flu bugs over Thanksgiving. Two trips to the doctor later, and I'm getting better, though I still feel like a 'Mech did a tap dance on my stomach. The pain, it burns._

_Anyhow, this is my air battle chapter. Fighter pilots don't get much "air time" in the Battletech universe (air…I made a pun, hurh hurh), so I felt something had to be mentioned about the Snowbirds' little air squadron. I think most Battletech authors don't write much aerial fighting fiction because it takes so long to knock down an aerospace fighter in comparison to today's or World War II's aircraft. But this was fun to write, and had it not been for the flu, I would've had this done last week._

_As for Rainbow Levine, yes, she is a lesbian (the original character in _Shanda the Panda _was a lesbian, though that Rainbow was/is a much better person). Her homosexuality is part of her character, but it isn't her entire character; she'd be trouble for Sheila if she was straight or gay. The point is to make an anti-Sheila: whereas Sheila is decidedly heterosexual and happily (and enthusiastically) married, Rainbow is neither; whereas Sheila is a warrior who fights for pay, Levine is a pacifist who disdains money. The character of Penny Salvatore (likewise based on a _Shanda _character, Pandora Sabatier) represents the balance between the two._

_Oh, and the nude male statue planted upside down in Levine's yard? My next door neighbor where I used to live had that. Yeah, it was weird._

_Anyhow, enjoy…_

_REVIEWER'S CORNER:_

_Pacificuser/Bien: Yeah, the fire still burns (unfortunately, right now it burns in my stomach…oorgh). My dad is a big Doug Reeman fan, but I've never had a chance to read his stuff—I'm more of a Bernard Cornwell guy, which probably shows up in my writing. Tell your sister that I unfortunately bear no resemblance to Errol Flynn, but make a pretty good Gendo Ikari. I'd make a lousy Jack Sparrow. Johnny Depp gets me dizzy just watching him._

_Panzerfaust: I hadn't thought about that with the abatis, but I like it. And I think you've got a pretty good lock on Levine's character._

_FraserMage: MechWarriors underestimate infantry at their peril, true enough. Thanks for the info on the fax machines; I didn't know they had gone into that much detail on them in the books. (Though I seem to recall Justin Allard saying something in _Blood Legacy _that the FedCom had accounted for all the faxes in the Fourth Succession War, but had come up short in 3039. I'll go with your explanation and put it down to Sheila's ignorance.)_

_MUSIC CORNER: What better music than "TIE Fighter Attack" and "The Battle of Yavin" from the _Star Wars: A New Hope _soundtrack? ("Information High" from _Macross Plus_ ain't half bad either.)_

* * *

_Toriyama_

_Kagoshima, Pesht District, Draconis Combine_

_29 December 3051_

"You sure you don't want me or Nisa to come with you?" Max asked Sheila.

Sheila shook her head. "No, that's all right…probably best if I go alone." Sheila had decided to wait until after dinner to meet with Rainbow Levine; she didn't feel like doing it on an empty stomach.

"You sure you'll be okay?"

Sheila rolled her eyes. "Max, the day that I get my ass whipped by pacifists is the day I hang up my jock." She winced. "Wow, that was _so_ not the 'old Dad saying' I wanted to use."

Max laughed. "Yeah, I don't think so either. Last I checked, which was this morning, you're still a girl, Sheila." She blushed. Max had launched a surprise attack on her in the shower, one which she didn't mind losing. He turned serious again. "You're absolutely sure? It's not the best idea to go bearding a lioness in her den."

"Yes, Max, I'm sure."

He adjusted the collar on her fatigues. "Well, don't stay out too late. I'll be waiting up with bandages and antiseptic."

"Don't forget an icepack for all the hot air she'll be blowing on me." She kissed Max, walked down the ramp of the _Minerva_, and walked across the Toriyama mesa. Work continued under 'Mech searchlights and rigged sodium lamps. How anyone could sleep through it was amazing, but Sheila stepped around knots of exhausted militia, who had built bonfires for warmth and stacked arms close by in case of a surprise Smoke Jaguar attack. It had finally turned cold, and flurries of snow fell from thick clouds, though the clouds were starting to break up over Toriyama Bay. It had a very ancient warfare feel to it, when men only had flintlock muskets and bronze artillery to kill each other with. Sheila looked west, to where the lights of Kagoshima City distantly lit up the cloud base; it couldn't be much longer.

A guard saluted her when she came near the village. "Good evening, Commander."

"Good evening, ah, Hojuhei." Sheila had to take a second to remember the Japanese name for a private. "I'm going over to the village. Has there been any problems?"

"No, ma'am, not for the most part. Some of the children threw rocks at us at first, but nothing major. We're obeying your orders to stay at least twenty meters away. Do you want an escort, Commander?"

Sheila smiled; it seemed like everyone wanted to make sure she would be all right tonight. "That's not necessary, Hojuhei, but thank you nonetheless. I'll yell if I need help." She tapped the radio mike at her throat. He nodded, saluted again, and followed her with his eyes as she walked past, though he said nothing more. Sheila had noticed he was an older man, her father's age, and probably one of the more experienced militiamen. Still, the bit about throwing rocks was disconcerting. That had to stop.

Sheila entered the village, which was remarkably quiet. The houses here were stout, built to survive the tough winter storms that blew in off the bay; most of them were made of concrete. All were decorated to one extent or another, some in quite beautiful paintings, others in the loudest and bizarre fashion possible. Apparently Levine's mayoral duties were pretty limited: the street was newly-paved and some of the houses were meticulously well-kept, while others looked like junkyards. It occurred to Sheila that she didn't know which house was Levine's, but since most had signs on the door or in their yards identifying the occupant, she hoped this wouldn't be too much of a problem.

Finally, at the end of the street and just short of the cliff that marked the southern face of Toriyama, Sheila found Levine's house. The yard was fenced off and filled with various sculptures, all of which were excellent and all of which were nude. Levine was equal opportunity, and there were as many males as females, though Sheila wasn't sure of what to make of the male who was only visible from the waist down because he was planted into the ground headfirst, or the woman who was in the pose of the Venus de Milo, but with metal pipes where her arms should be. The gate wasn't locked, though it jingled loudly when she opened it. Levine had also decorated her house with Christmas lights, which gave a sense of good holiday cheer that Sheila didn't really feel. She knocked on the door, and smelled a rather pleasant odor of hickory smoke mixed with apple cider.

"Hello! Good eve…ning." Rainbow Levine answered the door with a smile that died instantly on seeing Sheila. "What the hell are you doing here?" she demanded.

Sheila bowed, knowing full well that Levine would have to return it or look a fool. The other woman did so, awkwardly. "Good evening to you, too," Sheila said with just a hint of sarcasm. "I came to talk."

"We've got nothing to talk about," Levine snarled back.

"I disagree. We've got _plenty_ to talk about, namely the defense of this mountain. And if it's all the same to you, I'd like to talk inside rather than start screaming about it and disturb the neighbors."

"Ha! Like there hasn't been enough disturbances with you digging up half the mountain." Nonetheless, she sighed and motioned Sheila inside. It was warm and pleasant in Levine's house, and Sheila could see that the interior had been paneled in wood to hide the concrete. Levine's artistic talent extended to the interior, though Sheila felt that the art was a little bizarre; she didn't know how Levine or her child managed to eat with a dizzying, tie-dyed spiral hanging opposite their table.

"Rainbow, who is it? Oh!" Another woman walked into the room from the kitchen. Sheila, used to being taller than most women, was surprised to be at level eyes with someone. The woman was exceptionally well-built with what writers might call a Junoesque body, but her smile was genuine. "Hello," the woman said, "I'm Penny Salvatore. You're Sheila Arla-Vlata?"

"I am." Sheila hesitantly shook Salvatore's hand. She noticed the table was set for two, with candles. "I suppose I'm interrupting your dinner."

"Yes, you are, so say your piece and get out." Rainbow's anger had not diminished one bit.

Salvatore looked shocked. "Rainbow, that's no way to be to a guest. Remember hospitality!"

"She doesn't merit it. Not her kind."

"Well, _I'll_ show some hospitality," Salvatore said defiantly. "Would you like something to drink, Miss Arla-Vlata? A coffee, or something to eat? We've got pie."

"Maybe just some coffee. I just ate." Sheila idly wondered if Levine would try to poison her. Seeing the other woman trying to burn a hole through her with her eyes, Sheila took a deep breath, told herself to play nice, and looked around the living room. "You're really an exceptional artist, Miss Levine. Honestly. You've got an appreciation for the human form." Sheila couldn't resist blushing a little; some of the nudes hanging on the wall were fairly provocative, and she wondered what Levine's daughter thought of it. There was no sign of her, and Sheila wondered if the little girl was truly Levine's child or if the village was communal even with its children.

"Well, thank you." Levine's tone left no illusion that she truly felt thanked. "I make enough off these to keep me happy and keep my taxes paid, may God and Her angels curse the Dragon. Penny is my model." Levine looked Sheila up and down, giving the younger woman the uncomfortable sensation of being mentally stripped. "You look to have quite the figure yourself, Miss Arla-Vlata. Perhaps you'd like to model for me?"

Sheila didn't take the bait and only smiled maddeningly at Levine. "Yeah, maybe I will sometime. My husband would love it. Thanks, Miss Salvatore," she said, taking the mug of coffee. "Can we sit?"

"I'd rather stand."

"Miss Levine, stop it." Sheila took a sip of the coffee. "Can we quit the posturing and get down to business?"

"The quicker this is over the better. Speak your piece." Levine detached herself from Salvatore and dropped into a rocking chair.

"All right." Sheila took another sip of the coffee—which was actually quite good—and leaned against the wall. "As you know, the Smoke Jaguars grounded on Kagoshima a few days ago—"

"How could I not know? I saw the smoke from Greenfields. I saw your battalion stagger up here. Seems to me you've been defeated. Why don't you just leave?"

"I can't do that—"

"No, of course not," Levine sneered. "You couldn't get in another kill-fest that way, could you?" She turned to Salvatore. "That's all they care about, Penny: killing."

Sheila fought down the urge to see if she could smash Levine through a wall; it would make her feel better, but it would also make Levine's point. "I _can't_ do that," Sheila finished, "because I have a duty to resist. Something I thought maybe you'd understand."

"Oh, I understand it. It's the same thing that led Satoridon to his death, Arla-Vlata, and it'll kill you too. I have no problem with that, except that my people are going to die as well."

"Not if you leave."

Levine shot to her feet and twirled around, arms wide. "Give up all of this? Carry it out on my back? I have another idea, Arla-Vlata—why don't _you_ leave, and leave us in peace?"

"You think living under the Smoke Jaguars will be all cuddly and kind?" Sheila demanded.

"Who cares? They're all the same—either Coordinator Asshole-sama or Star Colonel Shithead. They'll leave us alone."

"Maybe. I don't think they'll be as kind to the people of Kagoshima."

"That's their problem and none of mine."

There was no humor in Sheila's smile. "Oh, I beg to differ, Miss Levine. Because _I _think the people of Kagoshima deserve a choice in the matter, so I'm staying right here on Toriyama. I'm drawing the line: no further. I'm building a wall around this damn mountaintop to give us a better chance when the Jaguars come—and they will—and right now your village is a big blind spot in my defenses. I'm going to build a wall around here," she said, watching Levine turn pale, "and I'm going to put tanks and infantry right in your front lawn."

"You'd bring war to my children?" Levine breathed, horrified.

"No. The Smoke Jaguars will. Even if I left Kagoshima tonight, they'd come eventually. Sure, they'd leave you alone at first, until you said or did something that upset them. Then they'd kill you, Rainbow Levine, _and_ your children, because that is what they _do_. I've seen what the Clans do. Firsthand." She held up her artificial arm for their inspection. "When I model for you, make sure you get the colors of my arm right. While you're at it, make sure that you get the scars between my breasts right where the docs had to repair the muscles that were torn when the Clans tortured me into insensibility." Sheila drank more of her coffee, pausing to rein in her temper. "We've got maybe another 24 hours, if that. I need to have the wall finished by then, so you'd better start evacuating tomorrow morning. I'll send every spare person I have to help. After the battle's over, you can have your village back, but I need it now. I'm sorry, but that's the way it is."

Levine laughed bitterly. "There'll be nothing left of it!"

"You can rebuild it, then."

Salvatore looked from Levine to Sheila and back. "Would the Smoke Jaguars allow it if you lose?"

"I don't know, but we're not going to lose, Miss Salvatore." Sheila knew the odds, but she couldn't let anyone know how she felt, much less civilians. Panic could spread very quickly if they thought there was any chance of a Jaguar victory at Toriyama.

"Except the fact that you _are_ going to lose!" Levine exclaimed.

"No, I'm not, but if you stay here, it makes my job that much harder." Sheila finished the coffee. "Like I said, I'll do everything I can to help. We'll find you lodging in Iwakuni, at government expense. I'll make sure you get the money to rebuild, whatever happens."

"Now you're trying to buy me off, just like a true mercenary. Well, I have a price, Arla-Vlata, and it's one you can never pay." Levine walked to the door and flung it open. "Now get out, whore. Because that's what you are, a damned whore who sells herself to the highest bidder. And when your bulldozers and 'Mechs come tomorrow, I'll stand in front of them until they run me over, but I will not leave my home! Now get out!" Her voice rose to a shout.

"Dammit, Levine, I'm trying—" Sheila was cut off when the lights abruptly went out, plunging Toriyama into darkness.

"Power outage?" Salvatore asked.

Then they heard the mournful wail of sirens. "Air raid," Sheila replied.

* * *

Inside the _Minerva's_ nose was a radar that gave coverage as far as Kagoshima City, a powerful set that detected something—several somethings. The electronic brain of the _Minerva_ rapidly processed this data, identified the objects as aerofighters, and sent out a query to determine if the fighters were friends or foes. When it came back negative, the alarms went off. Two seconds after that, a militiaman was turning an ancient hand-cranked siren, which was taken up by others on the base. Max dashed out of his and Sheila's room and was to the bridge in moments, quickly joined by Captain Baron.

Virginia Lossiemouth, who had been asleep on a cot in Toriyama's other hangar, leapt to her feet, grabbed her helmet, and was halfway to her aircraft before she even completely woke up. She scrambled up the built-in ladder and dropped into her seat, pulling on her gloves and then her helmet. Her crew chief stood with one foot on the ladder and one on the canard of her F-92 Stingray fighter as he helped her strap in, connecting oxygen feed and G-suit connections. As he did so, Lossiemouth's hands sped around the cockpit, flipping switches from memory, bringing her fighter to life. It was something she could do literally in her sleep: she knew her Stingray better than she could know any lover. His pilot ready, the crew chief slapped her on the shoulder, dropped to the ferrocrete below, and pressed the button that retracted the ladder into the fuselage. The engine shrieked to life, and Lossiemouth leaned out, fists together, thumbs out, then brought her fists away from each other. The crew chief signaled, and astechs pulled the chocks free from the wheels. She threw her crew chief a sharp salute and lowered the canopy, which sealed with a hiss, and taxied the Stingray to the runway. Her wingman waited at the edge; Toriyama had only one active runway.

Lossiemouth spoke into her mask. "_Minerva_, Nessie, request immediate clearance for two."

"Granted," Baron replied, "cleared for runway nine-three, winds out of the south at twenty kph, barometer steady, ground temperature ten above, broken clouds at five thousand. Check back in once you're up."

"Rog," she replied, and pushed the throttle forward. The Stingray's fusion engine replied instantly, and soon the small fighter was in the air, Lossiemouth's hands steady on stick and throttle. She loved the Marik-built fighter: the Stingray's shape was unique in the Inner Sphere, with forward-swept wings and large canards, close-coupled fuselage, and blunt nose. It was quick and very agile, but a handful to fly for an inexperienced pilot, which Lossiemouth wasn't. She made a quick circle of the base and spotted her wingman, Victor "Nut" dal-Windas, climbing to reach her; like Lossiemouth, he also flew a Stingray. She then saw the four combat air patrol fighters, which had been on a lazy, boring orbit over Toriyama Bay, heading for her like four diamonds, their afterburners lit. "Hello, Stomper Flight, this is Nessie. Join up on me." She curled around and they fell in behind her and dal-Windas. She counted them as they did so: Karl "Treeman" Baum, who flew a twin-tailed Lucifer; Terrence "Sultry" d'Sotra, in yet another Stingray; Linda "Mermaid" Yrth, in a tiny Sparrowhawk; and finally Yolanda "Batgirl" Richardson, who was flying a circular-winged TR-7 Thrush. None of the fighters were built by the same company or House; like many mercenary units, the Sentinels couldn't afford to equip its squadrons with a single type of aircraft but had to fly whatever they could get hold of. "_Minerva,_ Nessie, what do you have for me?" She sounded slightly bored.

"Nessie, raid count is ten bandits, heading—" Baron paused for a moment, and when his voice came back, it was an octave higher. "Warning, warning, bandits now split into two groups. Raid One is five bandits, heading zero-three-zero, altitude ten; Raid Two is five bandits heading zero-nine-eight, descending from altitude six." Lossiemouth quickly translated: five Clan fighters were moving roughly east at a thousand meters altitude, while five more had turned southeast and were descending from six hundred meters. She had no idea what she would be facing, as the _Minerva's_ radar could not tell what type, nor could she tell if one flight or both was carrying bombs or was up for strictly air-to-air. It didn't matter: she had to stop them, and she was outnumbered. "_Minerva,_ scramble the alert five at Chitose; we're gonna need some help."

"Already done, Nessie. Good luck, _Minerva_ out." Baron knew there was nothing more he could do at this point: it was a fighter pilot's battle now.

Nessie risked switching on her radar, knowing the Smoke Jaguar fighters would detect it instantly. The distance was closing rapidly. "Nut, you and Treeman hang back and defend the base. The rest o' you, follow me." She advanced the throttle again; fuel wasn't a concern now. She had to meet the first raid as far out as possible; it left dal-Windas and Baum alone over Toriyama against Raid Two, but with luck the remaining fighters of her squadron would be on station soon. Until then, Toriyama was pretty formidable itself, as the DropShips would have people in the turrets that festooned the two ships. She checked the sky around her, which had mostly cleared to reveal Kagoshima's moon. The Kamuri Valley was dark: someone had switched off the lights on Toriyama to make it harder to see, but apparently the farmers in the valley had done the same. It made no difference, because sensors could see in the dark quite easily, and the moonlight reflecting off the snow lit up the whole area. D'Sotra had taken up position behind and to her right, while Yrth and Richardson were above and to the left. She worried about them: Richardson had five combat missions under her belt, but Yrth had only one. So far, her Fighter Squadron Six had seen little action, but that looked like it was about to change.

* * *

Sheila, Levine, and Salvatore were standing outside Levine's house, the cold forgotten as they watched the glowing darts of the fighters race off to the north. "What are they doing, leaving us?" Levine exclaimed.

Sheila rolled her eyes. "You know, you'd think that someone who hates war so much would at least take the time to learn a little about it. They're going to try to catch the Clanners as far out as they can."

"Why?"

"So they don't blow the hell out of us." Sheila watched the formation separate, had a strange wish that she was with them, and prayed. Furey was making his move at last.

* * *

"Mermaid here, tally-ho!" Yrth sang out. "Bandits, bandits, twelve o'clock low!"

Lossiemouth's eyes shot to that location, which would be directly ahead and down. There. She could see five shadows flitting across Kaimonyama Ridge, stark against the snow. "Roger, here we go; Stompers, engage." Normally she would let them go past, then sweep in behind, but they had to keep them away from Toriyama as much as possible. Lossiemouth would take them head-on. She pushed the stick forward and dived.

As they got closer, she was mildly shocked to see not the now-familiar shape of Clan Omnifighters, but rather older designs she had only seen in museums: Star League-era fighters. Of the five, two of them were delta-winged Tomahawks, two bizarre-looking Zeros, and the last a heavy Ironsides. All were as agile or more so than her Stingray, and if they were Clan, they packed a heavier punch. She picked out the Ironsides, figuring it had to be the flight leader, let the gunsight creep over it, and fired. The Stingray armed a single PPC in the nose, two large lasers and two medium lasers in the wings, and she fired all but the medium lasers. The heat in the cockpit rose slightly, and Lossiemouth thanked God and Nicia Caii that the Sentinels had retrofitted her squadron with the new double heat sinks before leaving Sudeten.

The Ironsides looked like a manta ray, with large, wide wings, twin tails, and two jutting noses with the cockpit between them. Her canopy polarized automatically to preserve her night vision as the cobalt blue PPC bolt and one ruby laserbeam connected with the Clan fighter, scoring furrows behind the cockpit and vaporizing armor. The fighter wobbled, pitched upwards as the pilot skidded the Ironsides and returned fire with his PPCs, mounted in the noses. Lossiemouth was quicker, throwing the throttle back and pushing the stick into her right knee, causing the Stingray to nearly stall; as the Ironsides shot past, she hammerheaded her fighter and dropped neatly on the Clansman's tail. She got in two medium laser shots which ripped into the thick rear armor. Suddenly, bombs fell away from the Ironsides and it turned hard to get away from her, the Clan fighter pilot evidently deciding that killing Lossiemouth was more important than bombing Toriyama. She stayed with him, cutting inside his turn, her G-suit squeezing her hard to keep blood in her head and prevent her passing out as the Stingray strained past eight Gs. Her violent manuevering had thrown off d'Sotra, who shrugged inwardly; there wasn't much chance staying with Lossiemouth in this kind of fight.

* * *

The remaining four Clan fighters split up into two-man sections. The light Zeros, so named because the wings were set nearly at the fighter's nose, making it bear some resemblance to the ancient Japanese fighter, broke hard to the east, over the Chickugo River, while the faster Tomhawks pressed on for Toriyama, leaving the slower Sentinel fighters behind. The exception to this was Yrth's Sparrowhawk, which was both the fastest fighter in the air and also the lightest. She slammed her throttle to the stops and began gaining on the rearmost Tomahawk. The pilot spotted her and got even lower, skimming over the rice paddies, but it didn't help: Yrth opened fire and connected with all four of her medium lasers, sending fragments of armor flying off. The Tomahawk shuddered, climbed a little, and slowed down. "I've got him!" Yrth shouted, and closed for the kill.

D'Sotra, having lost Lossiemouth for good, had climbed high to get some idea of what was going on. He saw it, keen eyes picking out that there was no fire or smoke from the Clan fighter. "Mermaid, break off! It's a sucker play!"

It was too late. The Tomahawk suddenly barrel-rolled, killing its speed, and dropped in behind Yrth, opening fire with the large lasers in the wings and medium lasers in the nose. All four beams struck the Sparrowhawk's right wing. A microsecond later, the wing folded in on itself then snapped off, sending the Sparrowhawk into a lethal spin that terminated a moment later on the side of Hikari Ridge. Yrth barely had time to register she had been hit, let alone time to eject.

D'Sotra gritted his teeth and dived, knowing that the Tomahawk pilot had just gotten a kill, but made a fatal mistake at the same time: the manuevering had slowed him down, but now the normally quick fighter was sluggish due to the bombs slung under its wings. It was an easy target: d'Sotra centered his gunsight and let loose with everything. Lasers and the PPC bolt tore through the same spot Yrth had hit and touched off the fuel tanks, and the Tomahawk vanished in a huge fireball.

* * *

Vincent dal-Windas saw the other five Clan fighters heading straight at him. Like the first five, this one was also led by an Ironsides; unlike the other flight, the remaining four consisted of two Rogues and two Hellcats. All four were medium fighters, which meant they were fast and could carry a decent bombload; the Rogues were designed for ground attack, with two LRM-15 missile batteries beside the cockpit, while the all-wing Hellcat was more suited for reconnaissance duties, though it could hold its own. He'd never catch, let alone stop them all. "Nut to _Minerva_. You're gonna have some leakers."

"Roger that." Baron nodded to Max, who had a headset on. "Sasquatch to all ground units," he radioed, "air raid warning, Toriyama. Weapons free, fire at will."

Around Toriyama, the 'Mechs had dispersed, the lighter machines and hovertanks taking cover behind the hangars and Gateway Rock. Heavy 'Mechs, assault 'Mechs, and the tanks—especially Jacqueline Shaw's Hawkslayer, which was designed for exactly this occasion--were scattered around the base, still being hastily manned and readied by MechWarriors and tankers. Maysa Bari climbed her _Rifleman_ atop the rock now known as Senefa's Point, and waited.

* * *

"Sultry, if you're not engaged, we could use some help," dal-Windas called out.

"On my way, Nut," d'Sotra replied, and climbed hard to meet the other Stingray. Yolanda Richardson, who had taken a shot at a Zero and then lost him in the clouds, joined up with him. Neither saw the Zero Richardson had lost: the pilot had hidden behind a ridge, and now roared in behind the pair at full speed. The side-slung large laser and nose-mounted LRMs reached out and scored hits on Richardson's tail and wings. Like the Sparrowhawk, the Thrush was lightly armored. Luckily, the Sentinels had uparmored their Thrushes by reducing the weight and size of the engine, but even so, her tail was reduced to hash. "Oh shit," she said, more disgusted than afraid, "I'm hit." She snapped the stick to one side and rolled away from the Clan fighter. The Zero overshot and turned to reengage, only to find himself under attack from a fourth fighter to enter the fray: Baum's Lucifer. Baum let fly with two large lasers and his own LRMs, but only a few missiles connected, cratering armor on the Zero but not breaking through. The Zero abandoned his attack on Richardson and dived away towards Iwakuni town. Baum followed him into a brutal turn, keeping his eyes on the little Clan fighter even as the sheer face of Hikari Ridge hurtled past his right side, mere meters away from his right wing.

* * *

Virginia Lossiemouth knew she had been right about the Ironsides pilot being the Clan flight leader, simply by the other pilot's great skill. Neither had been able to do more than score glancing hits on each other's armor. They had been locked into a vertical scissors, both pilots climbing and twisting to try to get on the other's tail, before finally stalemating, pulling away, and now facing each other two kilometers above Toriyama. The Stingray and the Ironsides shot past each other at twice the speed of sound, Lossiemouth missing with her PPC and the Ironsides missing with its huge battery of SRMs; Lossiemouth abruptly remembered that close-in fighting was the Ironsides' specialty, and if it got a good sight picture, the fighter was capable of delivering a deluge of thirty missiles.

The Clansman snapped upwards into a climb, and Lossiemouth followed, once more going into the scissors. Airspeed bled off rapidly and both fighters curved downwards. Massive flaps opened on the Ironsides' wings and forced Lossiemouth out front. Streamers of tiny fires reached out from the Ironsides and she threw the Stingray into a roll, avoiding half of the missiles, the others slamming into her tail. She climbed away from yet another barrage, but the Ironsides stayed with her and connected with a PPC shot. An alarm went off on her instrument panel, warning her that another hit on her rear quarter would destroy her.

"I've had enough o' _this_ shite," Lossiemouth snarled, and slapped her throttles to idle, dropped her flaps, and snapped the canards vertical. The Stingray shuddered and practically stopped in midair. The Ironsides shot past so close they nearly collided, giving Lossiemouth a perfect, split-second view of two glowing tailpipes. She held down the trigger with her index finger and squeezed the other buttons on her stick with the rest of her fingers, triggering every weapon the Stingray had. The lasers burned through armor, but the PPC cored through to hit the Ironsides' magazine. The Clan fighter was blotted from the air, a brief comet against the blackness of space.

Lossiemouth hung suspended for a moment longer: she could see the curvature of Kagoshima itself outside the canopy. Even in the thin air, however, gravity still ruled, and the Stingray fell backwards into an end-over-end somersault for Kagoshima's surface eight kilometers below.

* * *

Baum leveled out over the paddies and cursed, watching as the Zero came in behind him. A large laser beam struck his Lucifer, but the tough Steiner fighter held. He rolled hard to the left, the fighter shuddering, as Baum now cursed himself: there was no way the heavy Lucifer could turn with a fighter half its size. The Zero easily cut across the circle Baum was making, rolled to the right, and came up behind the Snowbird fighter.

The Clan pilot never saw Richardson. She had leveled out her smoking Thrush and stayed low. Trying to land at Toriyama would get her shot down very quickly, since trigger-happy MechWarriors rarely stopped to identify fighters; they hated everything that flew. She nearly wet herself when she saw the blue shock diamonds of the Zero's thrust when it curved over her canopy. Richardson raised her nose, turned slightly, and opened fire with her three medium lasers. They only scored armor, but it shook the Clansman's concentration. The Zero fishtailed, the pilot trying to see where the new attack had come from, his vision to the rear blocked by the fighter's engine and tail. Baum saw his opportunity, rolled up and over, and came in from the left side; the Zero turned hard right and found itself head on with Richardson's Thrush.

The Clan pilot was not stupid and wasn't about to be caught between two Snowbird fighters, but his options were limited and all of them were bad. He would never pull out of a dive in time before he hit the ground, so he climbed hard—into the vertical plane, where the Lucifer excelled. Baum hit with a volley of LRMs, then closed in and marched his lasers across the already damaged right wing and fuselage. Flame erupted and, as the Zero stalled, the pilot ejected, his parachute taking him towards Toriyama.

* * *

The remaining Tomahawk of the first flight had made it to Toriyama and joined up with a Rogue from the second to make their bomb runs. They skimmed in low from the northwest, their initial target the runway. The Rogue pilot lined up her bomb run so that all six bombs underneath her fighter would march down the active runway, rendering it unusable. The Tomahawk followed, behind and to the Rogue's right, intending to drop its eight bombs on the huge DropShip. Missiles curled up and past from the DropShip at an awkward angle, but nothing else did.

As the Rogue crossed the wall, Shaw opened fire. She had left the radar on the Hawkslayer off, tracking optically so as not to give away the fact that she was watching the Clan fighter. The twin LB-10X autocannons chattered, sending six 75 millimeter rounds at the Rogue in two seconds. Two of the Cadre 'Mechs opened fire a second after that.

They needn't have bothered. The first shell hit the cockpit, killing the Clan pilot instantly. The Rogue rose slightly, then went into a shallow dive, hit the ground at the very end of the runway, bounced over the wall, nearly clipped Betsy Drakon's _Blackjack_, then dropped vertically into the bay.

The Tomahawk pilot broke off his attack and climbed away, followed by a cone of lasers and missiles as nearly every gun on the mesa opened up on him. A few scored hits, but nothing got through the Tomahawk's armor. He curved around, a Hellcat fell in on his wing, and they dived on the base from the east; no one ever claimed the Smoke Jaguars lacked courage.

The turret of the Hawkslayer slewed around to attack the Tomahawk, but this time the pilot was ready and fired first. Lasers turned snow into steam as they scored long trails across and hit the tank, blowing off a track and demolishing the radar. Shaw and her crew were unhurt, but it left a brief hole in Toriyama's defenses that the Hellcat slipped through. That pilot dropped his bombs just as he was hit by a volley of missiles from the _Cambrai._

Two bombs landed on the Hellcat pilot's intended target, the hangar; it shook hard but its thick concrete sides saved its interior from further damage. A third bomb hit one of the tanks, which would have been catastrophic had they been filled with reaction fuel rather than water. A fourth hit the runway at a shallow angle, bounced high, and landed nearly at the feet of Dan Pollycutt's _Dervish_, blowing the medium 'Mech onto its back. The fifth and sixth bombs both landed neatly on warehouses equidistant from the hangars and Levine's village and flattened them. The Hellcat manuevered through the vicious flak, took a potshot at Maysa that rattled her enough that she missed, and flew off into the night. The Tomahawk curved around, spotted Richardson trying to slip out to sea and Chitose, and pounced.

She spotted the Tomahawk boring in at her. "Batgirl to anybody! I need help!" She firewalled the throttle, but her engines were damaged and the Tomahawk easily kept pace.

"Batgirl, this is Dude," drawled a voice in her helmet. "Break hard right; Ah've got yer boy." Richardson did as she was ordered, and as the Tomahawk turned to follow, he placed himself squarely in the sights of Gary "Dude" Honington and his massive F-100 Riever flying wing. The Tomahawk pilot saw the huge fighter a split-second too late: Honington had gone low and throttled back, the dark gray wing nearly invisible against the ocean. The Clansman instinctively broke hard left, but this killed his one advantage, speed, and just made him a better target. "Fella, that's gonna cost ya," Honington sighed, and pulled the trigger. The Riever's main armament, a titanic AC/20, spoke, followed by two flights of missiles. The impact was enough to tear the Tomahawk's tail off, and the pilot ejected as the remains plummeted into the sea.

* * *

The remaining Rogue and the two Hellcats had broken off their first attack on Toriyama after seeing the mesa's defenses, but now rejoined and bored in again, hotly pursued by d'Sotra, swiftly joined by Honington's wingmate, Cindra "Dame" Scampton, in her Transgressor. Scampton centered her gunsight on the Rogue, already hit by DropShip fire and falling behind the others, and opened up with her three large lasers. The Rogue went into a spin, careened into the wall near O'Reilly's lance, narrowly missed her _Wolfhound_, and exploded against Gateway Rock with a thunderous explosion. The Hellcats broke in opposite directions, forcing the Snowbird fighters to do the same.

Even as they did so, the last Zero streaked towards Toriyama, looking for targets, its pilot unaware that he was already a target. Dal-Windas roared in from the west, so low and fast he nearly blew Sheila, Lavine, and Salvatore off their feet. He fired at the Zero more to throw off the Smoke Jaguar's aim than to hit, then stomped right rudder to settle in behind the Zero. The Zero turned away to attack the _Cambrai_ even as dal-Windas' fire missed. As his Stingray turned to follow, one of the Hellcats dropped its bombs, scattering them across the rice paddies, and fell in behind dal-Windas. "Son of a bitch," he growled, more annoyed than scared, "this is Nut; I've got one on my tail." He turned and dodged as large laser fire reached out at his Stingray.

Then Lossiemouth arrived. She had let her fighter fall on its own accord, until its natural aerodynamics and thicker air had allowed it to bring itself out of the spin. Once it had, she put her fighter into a shallow dive that terminated behind the Hellcat. Now there was a bizarre daisy-chain skimming across Toriyama at seventy meters at nearly the speed of sound: the Zero, dal-Windas, the Hellcat, and Lossiemouth. The Hellcat, seeing her, broke away from dal-Windas; Lossiemouth turned to follow. The Zero got low, breaking off its run on the _Cambrai_ and weaving between the airfield's buildings. Dal-Windas stayed with him, barely high enough to miss 'Mechs on the ground, who didn't dare fire at the Zero for fear of hitting a friendly.

The Zero pilot suddenly sprung a trap: he accelerated, rolled, spun, and ended up behind a surprised dal-Windas. The large laser scored a lucky hit, going through armor and smashing a microprocessor in the wing. The Stingray was kept aloft by such microprocessors, who made decisions faster than the pilot ever could; now it turned against its pilot, the Stingray's central computer convinced that half the wing had been blown off and trying to compensate. It yawed out of control and only by throwing his entire body into pitching the stick left did dal-Windas keep from careening into the ocean. The Zero pilot let him go, did a magnificent split-S, and started a new bomb run. "Nessie from Nut!" dal-Windas yelled. "That Jaguar got me good! He's making another run!"

"Damn," Lossiemouth whispered. She broke off of the Hellcat and turned to take the Zero head on, guessing correctly that her erstwhile target would now follow her. Her sudden appearance shook the Zero pilot, who dropped two bombs that landed harmlessly on the south face. The Zero curved away from her, aiming for the barracks. Lossiemouth screamed with exertion as she made a brutal nine-G turn to get behind the Zero. The Hellcat rolled over the top and resumed his pursuit of her, the Clan large lasers tearing at her vulnerable rear armor. With a singlemindedness that would've impressed a samurai, Lossiemouth stayed on the Zero, determined to kill that fighter before the Hellcat killed her. Her medium lasers missed, but the Zero turned hard left again, trying to shake her off. It was in vain: her PPC struck the left wing, tracked through armor, and hit a bomb. The left wing simply vanished, and the Zero went into a tight spiral that bounced it off the north face of Toriyama and into the Chickugo River with a tremendous explosion of fuel and steam.

Scampton came in and hit the Hellcat hard, causing the Clansman to finally break off, but his parting shots had finally melted away the last of her rear armor and penetrated the engine, fusing parts and melting others. The engine began to surge as her instruments flickered; Lossiemouth knew that the Stingray was dying around her. "Nessie, Nessie, you're on fire!" Scampton cried. "Eject! Eject! Eject!"

"Negative," she calmly replied. "Not over Iwakuni." Her course had taken her over the town. "I'll try to step out over the Chickugo." She climbed, coaxing the remaining thrust out of the engine, and turning slightly so that when she ejected, the Stingray would fall harmlessly into the river.

* * *

The three women watched the burning Stingray struggling to stay in the air. "Why doesn't she get out?" Salvatore asked.

"Too much chance it'll go into Iwakuni," Sheila explained. "I think that's Ginny Lossiemouth, one of my best pilots. She'll make it."

Sheila's assessment was right—or would've been, had the fire not reached the Stingray's still mostly full fuel tanks. Lossiemouth saw fire warning lights appear all over the fuselage, and knew she only had seconds. Satisfied that her Stingray was safely away from Iwakuni, she leaned back in the seat, put her hands between her legs—ejection seat designers had wisely assumed that all fighter pilots, regardless of gender, would be concerned for their genitals first and foremost—and pulled the handle. At the same moment, the Stingray exploded.

Lossiemouth was knocked unconscious by both the force of the ejection and the blast. It caught the seat and smashed her leg against the canopy frame, but tumbled free of the explosion.

"Oh my God!" Salvatore gasped. "There's no way she made it out of that!" Levine's hands went to her mouth in shock at the sheer sudden violence.

"Oh no," Sheila breathed, then saw the parachute blossom as the seat's systems automatically deployed it. "There! There! She made it after all!" The wind carried the parachute towards them, and Sheila, momentarily forgetting she was with two strangers and not her own troops, ordered, "Come on!" and ran towards Lossiemouth. As the parachute drifted closer, Sheila could see that Lossiemouth was limp, her leg twisted at an odd angle. She had almost reached the pilot when Lossiemouth limply hit the snowy ground of Toriyama. Sheila quickly leapt on the chute to collapse it, so the wind wouldn't drag the pilot along the ground and make her injuries worse.

Salvatore and Levine automatically reacted to Sheila's order, but Levine stopped short, while Salvatore helped Sheila. Seeing headlights coming towards them, Salvatore, thinking quickly, reached into Lossiemouth's survival suit, picked out a flare, lit it, and began waving it frantically.

Levine's mind whirled frantically, watching frozen as Sheila began tearing away the flight suit to get to Lossiemouth's broken leg. Sheila didn't know Levine was a trained nurse and first responder, mainly to tend to the various injuries of her village, since Kurita authorities had little reason to help them; on one hand, Levine's training screamed at her to go help, automatically cataloging Lossiemouth's injuries and how to treat them. On the other, her own instincts told her to stay away, that it was Lossiemouth's fault for getting hurt, that she was just a mercenary pilot who was getting what she deserved. Then she saw bright red blood well up from the flight suit and splash the snow red, and the decision was made for her. She rushed forward, grabbed hold of the parachute, and tore a section out. She then gently shouldered Sheila aside and wrapped the fabric around the leg, stopping the worst of the bleeding. "Keep pressure on it," Levine told Sheila, "I need to see if it's arterial—"

Sheila abruptly turned and slapped her across the face with a hand covered with Lossiemouth's blood. "Stay the hell away from her!" she screamed.

Levine rolled back in the snow, stunned, and stayed that way even as militia paramedics arrived, bundled Lossiemouth into a stretcher, and carried her towards a bread van that they had commandeered as an ambulance. Finally, she got to her feet and walked to Sheila, who was absently wiping the blood on her pants. "I only wanted to help…" Levine began, but stopped at the look of pure hatred on Sheila's face—hatred that Levine herself knew she had worn only ten minutes before, before the air battle had started.

"You said you had a price," Sheila said quietly, but no less angrily. "Well, I think it was just paid, Rainbow." She pointed to Levine's cheek, then walked off towards the burning warehouses at the edge of the airfield.

Levine reached up and rubbed a stranger's blood off her cheek. She stared at the blood on her hand for a long time.


	8. Deguello Wedding

_AUTHOR'S NOTES: This may be the last chapter I write for awhile—turns out that "stomach bug" was something that's going to require surgery. A _lot _of surgery. So I'm not going to be feeling like writing much for a good bit of time. Still, this was a fun chapter to write, and I even managed to get in some humor this time._

_I admit it…at least one scene in here is pretty much taken from the newer version of _The Alamo.

_REVIEWER'S CORNER:_

_Texray1: Why, thank you. I wish you were paying for this too! (I really need the money right now…)_

_John the Dark: I doubt it. The Sentinels aren't rich enough to have their own Warship, so it's very unlikely._

_Bien: I'm a huge Robotech fan (check out my story_ Only the Best _here on ), so that's not surprising. Sadly, I have no subordinates to experiment on._

_Rica: No comment on the horses thing. As for _Iron Eagle…_ugggh. Unfortunately, I have seen it. _Top Gun _was much better._

_Mosin: That's a good quote. I always love it when a plan comes together._

_FraserMage: You're probably right about the 5-5 split on the Clan Aerofighters. Then again, the British did use the 3-aircraft vic for a long time in World War II (until it started getting pilots killed), and the North Vietnamese were known for flying five-ship formations (four in the air, one down low in ambush). But point taken._

_MUSIC CORNER: "Red Tide" by Rush, "The Fields of the Pelennor" from the _LOTR: Return of the King _soundtrack, and "Burn" by Type O Negative (from the _Mortal Kombat _soundtrack)._

* * *

_Toriyama_

_Kagoshima, Pesht District, Draconis Combine_

_30 December 3051_

There was an urgent knock on the door to Sheila and Max's cabin on the _Minerva_. Sheila opened one eye. "Yesh?" she muttered, half-asleep.

"Commander? It's Sergeant Kinosh. Are you decent?"

Sheila glanced over at the chronometer by the inert form of her husband. It was seven in the morning. She had gotten to bed only five hours before. "What is it?"

Kinosh evidently took that as permission to come in, for the door slid open. She glanced around, decided Sheila and Max were indeed decent, and stepped inside the hatchway. "They're coming," she said simply.

Sheila nodded back. "Put everyone on full alert and man the walls." She abruptly remembered that the walls were nowhere near complete around Levine's village, if they had even gotten started, but it was too late to worry about that now. _I should've done it last night, dammit,_ Sheila thought to herself angrily, _instead of fooling around trying to play nice. _

"Major Rhialla's already doing that, ma'am."

Sheila shook Max, who came awake with a jolt. "Jaguars are coming," she said softly, and he was instantly alert. Kinosh retreated to give the couple some privacy as they hurriedly dressed in duty uniforms, then they followed the infantry commander through the DropShip and out onto Toriyama's plain.

It was cold, though not bitterly so; Sheila and Max were both glad they had worn their coats. The sun was just rising in the east, throwing out reddish beams of light across scattered clouds. Sheila couldn't help but be reminded of the ancient battle flag of Japan.

Toriyama was a beehive of activity. 'Mechs were moving into position, and Sheila was glad to see that her subordinates and the Sun Zhang were on the job. The 'Mechs were held back from the walls a few meters, so that the Jaguars would not be able to see them from the valley. Sheila knew Furey wasn't dumb enough to try an immediate assault: he knew the mesa was defended, heavily so, and probably wanted to scope out the land first and look for weaknesses. She spotted Marion waving at her from atop her _Palladium_, which was further forward than the other 'Mechs, though its low profile would help hide it. They scrambled up the 'Mech's legs to the top of its flat torso. Marion sat straddling the birdlike head of the _Palladium_, while Chu-sa Usagi was already there, standing, hands on his hips. To Sheila's surprise, Elfa was there as well, sitting crosslegged and munching on nacho chips. She didn't see Senefa, but a quick glance to the point further down the north face of Toriyama showed that the _Thunderbolt_ already atop it.

"Morning," Marion said out of the corner of her mouth. She was looking through binoculars. "There they are." She handed the binoculars to Sheila. The image wavered for a moment, then came into focus.

Furey evidently suspected that Sheila had not decided to defend the Kamuri Valley, but neither was he taking chances. Elementals came first in a skirmish line, alternately walking and jumping. Behind them, the BattleMechs of the 17th Jaguar Regulars walked in an assault wedge. Sheila increased the resolution, and saw that the 'Mechs gleamed in the weak morning sun: Furey had taken the time to repaint his 'Mechs in standard Smoke Jaguar gray-spot camouflage and, like the Sun Zhang Cadre had done at Greenfields, were flying their colors and banners. There was a scattering of OmniMechs among the Star League types, but Sheila had a brief feeling of what Stefan Amaris—or perhaps her own ancestor, since Amaris had also used Star League-type equipment—must have known, watching the SLDF or the Rim Worlders coming for them.

She passed the binoculars to Max, and noticed aerofighters stacked above the Jaguars. A quick glance overhead confirmed what her ears had already told her: Gary Honington, who had taken over Fighter Squadron Six after Virginia Lossiemouth's injury, had their fighters up as well. Both sides kept their distance from the other, and Sheila knew both would likely have to break off soon: the Jaguars back to Kagoshima City and the Snowbird fighters back to Chitose across the bay. After about twenty minutes, Sheila saw the Jaguar fighters indeed dip their wings, almost as one, and head back in the direction of the capital. Honington stayed up for a few minutes longer, then he too turned his formation back, and the skies were empty.

It took about an hour for the Cluster to file into the valley. Once the Jaguars deduced that the Snowbirds were not going to make a fight for the Chickugo River crossings, they splashed across the fords, occupied Iwakuni village at the base of the mesa, took the northern end of Hikari Ridge, and slowly surrounded Toriyama on three sides.

Elfa, who had finished the bag of chips and dozed most of the time, put a hand to her earpiece. "Sheila, south face reports no activity."

"No, he's wondering why we haven't attacked him yet," Sheila said. "He'll send some Elementals around to scout as soon as he figures out what we're up to."

The valley had echoed with the sounds of metal-shod feet. Now it stopped, and the valley was deathly still as the last echoes died away. "What do you think, Marion?" Sheila asked.

"They dress well," Marion replied, taking in the formation with a professional eye, "and they look sharp. We know they can fight." She winked at Sheila. "Should be interesting."

Abruptly a single _Masakari_ detached itself from the Jaguar's center square, marched to the very edge of the mesa, stopped, then crouched. Max brought up the binoculars. "I'll be a son of a bitch," he exclaimed. "I think that's Furey himself getting out." He handed them to Sheila, and sure enough, a single, tiny figure climbed down from the OmniMech and began walking up the mesa, attended by two armored Elementals. One of the Elementals carried a white flag. "I think he wants to parley."

"You're right. Probably wants to do batchall."

Marion opened the canopy to her 'Mech. "Want me to erase him?"

Sheila briefly considered it. One Gauss shot, and Furey would be little more than a bloody smear. It might deprive the Jaguars of leadership they needed. Then again, it smacked of cowardice, and Sheila still had some honor left. She could feel Usagi's eyes on her; he would consider that dishonorable in the extreme. "No, I'll go meet him."

"I'll go with you," Max said, and Sheila knew argument would be useless.

"Do you want me to go?" Usagi asked.

"You'd better stay here in case this guy wants to go out in a blaze of glory," Sheila told him. "Elfa, you stay here too…I'd hate to embarrass the man."

Elfa grinned. "Or sicken him. You know how the Clans feel about natural pregnancy. Senefa turns green every time she looks at me." She tried to get to her feet and failed. "Assistance!" she demanded, and Max hauled her to her feet. "Take Kinosh with you so she doesn't get all worried."

* * *

Sheila and Max climbed down the side of the _Palladium,_ Sheila idly wondering how Elfa was going to get down. She waved Kinosh over and they went over the wall, over the firing step for the infantry. "We've got to be crazy doing this," Max mused.

"I know," Sheila replied.

"I agree," Kinosh grumped. She was clearly not enthusiastic about her commander being in close proximity to two Elementals. She unslung her Federated Long Rifle, although it would be next to useless against battlearmor. She kept the barrel pointed towards the ground, but by the look on her face, it was obvious that if someone made a wrong move, she intended Furey to be corpse number one.

Sheila picked her way down the slope, intending to meet Furey halfway. She created small landslides with every other step, and she tried to keep from looking at where she knew the booby traps were. She wondered if Furey was looking too. Did he anticipate the slope being trapped? She quietly cursed herself for making the trip down. She really didn't want to meet the Smoke Jaguar. Worse, he probably now figured—correctly—that the slope wasn't mined.

They finally stopped twenty paces from each other; though neither said anything, they stopped at the same time. Sheila was surprised to find that Char Furey was shorter than her, even accounting for the angle of the mesa. She also noticed that his beard was not only neatly trimmed, but oiled—had he been dressed in the finery of the 16th Century rather than a Clan MechWarrior's outfit of the 31st, he would have easily fit the image of the roguish cavalier. He made no move to shake hands, but he did smile at her with even, bright teeth. "Good morning, Commander Arla-Vlata."

Sheila inwardly shrugged: no reason to be unfriendly. "Good morning, Star Colonel Furey."

"I see you have got quite the fortification here, quiaff? It reminds me of that ancient fortress in Israel…do you know the name of it?"

He sounded like he was genuinely asking the question, so Sheila felt there was no harm telling him. "Masada." The comparison was obvious anyway.

"Aff, that was it, Masada." He looked around the mesa. "I take it then, you remember what happened there."

"The defenders committed suicide rather than be taken as slaves by the Romans."

Furey nodded like a teacher proud of his pupil. "Exactly. Maybe you have heard of the Alamo as well in 1836, another ancient siege?"

Sheila was getting tired of historical twenty questions very quickly. "Maybe you've heard of Rorke's Drift, 1879?"

Now Furey looked confused. "Neg, I do not recall that one. It does not matter." He put out his hands in supplication. "Commander, there is no reason for a battle here. I do not want to be Lucius Silva to your Eleazar ben Ya'ir, quiaff? Surrender. I will ensure that you are able to leave Kagoshima. I will give you until sunset to consult with your officers."

"Are you granting hegira?" Max asked.

"Ah, you are aware of our custom. Aff, I grant hegira, provided you leave behind your BattleMechs."

"No," Sheila answered. "You want our 'Mechs, you're going to have to come and take them."

Furey's face darkened. "I warn you, Commander. This is your only chance. If you surrender now, you may lose your 'Mechs, but you will not lose your lives."

Sheila half-smirked at Furey. "What makes you think it's our lives that'll be lost?"

His right eye began to twitch alarmingly. "Commander Arla-Vlata, if you do not surrender, I will put this garrison to the sword."

Now Sheila raised an eyebrow. "To the sword? Star Colonel, this isn't the Alamo and you're not Santa Anna. What's next, serenading us with the Deguello? If I knew I was going to be in a historical reenactment instead of a 'Mech fight, I would've opened fire on you right off the bat."

Furey rolled his eyes. "Fine, then…have it your way, Commander." He composed himself, though he was no longer smiling. "What forces do you commit to defending Toriyama?"

"All of them."

He didn't answer for a moment until he realized what Sheila had said. "All of what? Your battalion? The pathetic remnants of the Sun Zhang Cadre? They know that Satoridon is dead, quiaff? We left him for the carrion birds, as we will leave you!"

"You still giving us until sundown to consider your offer?" Sheila suddenly made her voice conciliatory, throwing Furey off balance.

"Er…" He quickly recovered. "Yes, fine, until sundown. If you have not surrendered by then, you will not get another chance."

"We'll let you know. Good day, Star Colonel." She gave a half-bow and curtsey, and turned to walk back up the slope.

"There is one other thing," Furey said. She stopped, turned, and noticed the right eye twitching again. "You have captured some of my pilots, quiaff?"

"Two of them, yes."

"I have one of yours. A Mary Scott." Sheila hoped she showed no sign of recognition of the name. "She is fine," Furey assured them, "but I do hope my men are unharmed."

"They are," Sheila answered.

"Good. Your MechWarrior will be returned when you surrender. Good day, Commander." Furey turned and walked down the hill. One of the Elementals did the same, but the other carefully backwalked, keeping a wary eye on Kinosh, and probably the hill above: Sheila thought she could see the glint of steel off Marion's Gauss Rifles. She motioned at Max and Kinosh, and they began the climb up.

"You're not going to surrender." Max made it a statement.

"Nope. Should I?"

"Nope." He smiled wanly at her. "It's not the 'Mechs. I want to wipe the smile off that arrogant little bastard's face. I just hope he doesn't hurt Mary."

"He'd better not." Privately, Sheila wondered why Furey had brought it up. She had a bad feeling it had nothing to do with any concern for his pilots. It was more than likely a threat that the consequences of not surrendering would be dire to Mary Scott.

Sheila was surprised, and ashamed, about how quickly she simply wrote Mary Scott off.

* * *

"What did he want?" Usagi asked as soon as Sheila, Max, and Kinosh came over the wall.

"For us to surrender," Sheila said. "I told him no. He's giving us until dusk to reconsider, but I don't intend to reconsider."

"Good. The Cadre would stay even if you didn't, but I'm glad to know you'll be staying." He walked with them back to Marion's 'Mech. The older woman leaned down from the _Palladium_. "What did you tell him?" she yelled.

"That you wanted to have his children," Sheila yelled back. "He got so sick that he's going to attack us at sundown." Marion laughed uproariously at that.

Elfa had somehow gotten off the 'Mech and pointed. "Sheila, I think that's Rainbow Levine coming towards us, battle flags flying."

"Oh God." The last thing Sheila needed to deal with now was Levine. Nonetheless, she walked in that direction, trying to stay calm, where two militiamen were holding the other woman back. Sheila was developing a thorough dislike for Levine.

"Unhand me!" Levine was yelling. The militia looked in Sheila's direction, who nodded. Levine pushed them aside. "You've seen the Smoke Jaguars, I take it."

"Be hard not to," Sheila replied.

"I don't see you leaving."

"We're not."

Levine folded her arms across her chest. "So what's your plan, fearless leader?"

"Win the battle."

"Just like that?"

"War's easy, Rainbow. It's peace that's hard." That surprised her enough that Levine was quiet a moment. "I want to evacuate your village. We can either put them in the basement under the main hangar, or in the _Cambrai,_ the smaller DropShip."

Levine shrugged. "We don't need you, Commander. We can just pack up and march down to Iwakuni. I suppose it would do me no good to try and stand in your way when you bulldoze my town."

"I'm not bulldozing it. Those buildings are too stout; we need them for defense. I'd suggest you bury your valuables somewhere, though." Sheila shook her head. "And you're not going to Iwakuni, either. The Jaguars might kill you on sight, or worse, try to use you as human shields." Sheila didn't know if Furey would actually stoop that low, but she wasn't taking chances. If Furey's first few attacks failed to take Toriyama, he might just start torturing Levine or her people to get a better idea what the defenses were.

Levine blanched a little. She opened her mouth to say something, thought better of it, and sighed. "All right, Commander. We'll get on your DropShip. The children will need someplace to sleep. Do you have that?"

"Certainly. They can use the cabins. You'll have to double and triple up, though." Sheila knew Nicia wouldn't be thrilled with that idea, because the techs would be largely evicted from their snug bunks on the _Cambrai._ Then again, the techs wouldn't have much time to sleep. "I'll let the militia know you're coming."

"Very well." Levine turned back towards her village, stopped, and looked over her shoulder. "How's your pilot? Did she make it?"

"Broken and lacerated leg. She'll be as all right as any of us."

Levine hesitated. "You'd better win this battle, Arla-Vlata…that's all I have to say." She walked away.

* * *

The hours passed slowly through the day. Sheila sat in her 'Mech during most of it, inspecting the lines and keeping an eye on the Smoke Jaguars. The latter did little. The MechWarriors lounged around their 'Mechs and in them; the wind had ceased and the air was almost pleasant. Elementals stripped out of their armor and did routine maintenance. Sheila thought she even saw a few wrestling, what the Clans considered entertainment. It looked like a unit resting after a long road march, not one besieging a fortified mountain. Then again, Sheila had never been in a siege, so she wasn't sure if this was how it was supposed to be or not. She doubted Furey would wait much longer after dusk, however. He would either force a night action—which MechWarriors universally despised, because it was a good way to get killed by your own side in confusion—or he would attack the next dawn.

She also checked the fax machine on occasion, which had been moved inside the _Minerva._ There had been nothing, but Matria had assured her something would come in the next day. Of course, he had said that the day before, too.

There was an insistent banging on the leg of her 'Mech, so Sheila leaned out and saw Elfa standing there, wrench in hand. She got out and climbed down. "What's up? Did Levine's bunch get in okay?"

"Oh sure, no problem," Elfa said sarcastically, "except for one _teensy_ problem."

"Great. One of the kids try to steal Nicia's toolkit?"

"No, then I'd be reporting a murder. Actually, it's because we didn't anticipate on feeding fifty-three villagers along with everyone else on Toriyama who's actually, you know, fighting."

_Damn,_ Sheila thought, _why didn't I think of that?_ Water was no trouble: Toriyama had deep artesian wells and both DropShips still had significant water stored. Food was a different matter. Elfa might have cleaned out the Kamuri Valley, but that had been barely enough to feed the garrison for awhile. "How much food do we have?"

"Oh, we can eat like royalty…for three days."

"How about for a week?"

"We're gonna get hungry." Elfa caressed her stomach. "Especially me and the other three pregger girls of the village."

"No one's about to pop, are they?" Sheila asked worriedly.

"None of the villagers, no. Me, I _should_ be okay. The doc said I still had about two months left." The unspoken fact that combat stress could bring on premature birth hung between the two women. And Sheila had to have Elfa on the line.

"Shit," Sheila spat.

"That's about the size of it." Elfa saw Maysa Bari sprinting across the runways towards the _Minerva_. "What's with her?"

"Dan Polycutt got knocked silly last night in the airstrike. He just woke up. I told Senefa to relieve Maysa on overwatch…that way she's not worrying herself senseless over Dan."

Elfa rolled her eyes. "Young love, huh?"

"Yeah. Sickening, isn't it?" Sheila, all of nineteen and married not yet one year, told her.

* * *

Dr. Jotaro Honma held up two fingers. "How many?"

"Two," Daniel Polycutt answered.

Honma made a notation on his pad. The _Minerva_ had a full medical bay, but only a pharmacist's mate aboard plus a small staff of combat medics. Honma, on the other hand, was attached to the staff of the Sun Zhang Academy and had been practicing as a MD for nearly twenty years. So far, aside from Usagi's broken foot, Lossiemouth's broken leg—she was resting in the barracks--and Polycutt's concussion, he had only treated a few minor lacerations and contusions as the walls of Toriyama were built. He knew it would get much worse now, and was glad of a few calm moments before the storm.

He had Polycutt get out of bed and stand. The MechWarrior was a little wobbly but stable. Honma nodded. "Well, I think you're all right, MechWarrior Polycutt. I'd really like to keep you for another few hours, but they probably need you on the wall—" Honma was cut off as a blur with red hair hit Polycutt like a tornado. Only the fact that Polycutt was braced agains the bed and Maysa Bari was smaller than he was kept him from going backwards. He barely had time to register that before she was smothering his face with kisses, amid crying. "Oh God, Dan!" Maysa blubbered. "When I saw them take you out of your 'Mech on a stretcher, I thought…I thought…"

Honma suppressed a smile. "She wouldn't leave your side most of the night."

"I know, Doc." Dan managed to pry Maysa off for a moment. "I woke up last night, remember? She was asleep then."

She cupped his face in her hands. "You should have woke me."

"I know. I wasn't feeling too great at the time though…and you looked so peaceful…"

"Oh." Maysa began kissing him again.

Honma now couldn't resist smiling any longer. "Well, MechWarrior Polycutt, you seem to be in good hands here. I think I'll get some dinner." He pointedly turned, drew a curtain back around the bed, and left the otherwise empty medbay.

Once more Dan was seized by a lamprey-like Maysa Bari. He was torn between enjoying it and fearing what would happen should a certain Marion Rhialla walk in, or what would happen if he let things continue—which by certain physical signs, was very likely to lead to something neither was ready for. "M-Maysa…" he struggled out. "We've got…got to stop this…" He didn't really want to stop.

Maysa was now trying to devour his right ear. "Why?" she puffed out.

"Because you know what will happen…"

She left off his ear and went after his shirt. "I know…I want to. I want to, Dan. I love you."

"I love you too, Maysa." Her hands were on his belt now and, with the last of his willpower, he gently pushed her hands away. "Which is why I'm stopping this."

"But why?" Tears reappeared in her green eyes. "Please, Dan, I know—I know it's wrong! But I don't want to…don't want to…"

"Don't want to what?"

Maysa was now as red as her hair—redder, actually. "I…d-don't…I don't want to die…without knowing…_you_ know…what it's like."

"You don't want to die a virgin?" Dan was now just as red as she was. She nodded dumbly, looking at the deck. "You're not going to die, Maysa!"

"You don't know that!" she shrilled. "My gosh, Dan, the Jaguars are all around us! We've got next to no hope of being relieved, and apparently the head Jag told Sheila he wouldn't take any prisoners if we didn't surrender by sundown! And you _know_ Sheila's not going to surrender! I mean, I wouldn't either, but…" She hugged him tightly. "Oh God, Dan. Ever since New Caledonia, I've been terrified that something would happen to you or me. I've been okay—I didn't really have time to think before Greenfields, and I'll be okay once the shooting starts—but all day today, my stomach's been in knots! I've been so scared. I don't want to die. I haven't even lived…Dan, I'm only seventeen for heaven's sake…"

He ran his fingers through her short hair. To the rest of the Snowbirds, Maysa was almost superhuman: unflappable, always cheerful despite the danger, fanatically pious, and deadly in combat. In the months he had known her, Dan had found that, beneath all that, Maysa was still just a girl forced into being a woman too early. He alone knew that she got frightened and sometimes the cheeriness was just a façade. Her prayers were motivated by faith, but also in fear that she might fail her friends. Maysa rarely thought of herself, always of others. It was why he truly loved her, and planned to marry Maysa Bari when—if—they returned to the Federated Commonwealth. Looking down at her, feeling her cry into his shoulder, Dan came to a decision. He looked at the nightstand next to the desk. There was a container of bandages on it. He disentangled himself from Maysa, reached in, and withdrew a butterfly bandage. He gently took her right ring finger and tied the bandage around it, then shakily got to one knee. "Maysa Bari…will you marry me?"

Her hands went to her mouth in pure shock. He waited, patiently, suddenly seized with terror himself, that she would run away. She didn't, but it was at least a minute before she nodded vigorously. He got to his feet, kissed her deeply, and nodded himself. "Okay, then. Let's go."

"Go? Go where?"

"To find the Commander."

"Sheila? Why her?" Maysa felt dizzy.

"So she can marry us, that's why."

Maysa nearly fainted. "Can…can she do that?" she asked as they left the medbay.

* * *

The sky had turned a beautiful orange and purple as the temperature dipped noticeably. Sheila, Senefa and Max sat on the foot of his _Battlemaster_, having dinner. Sheila savored every bite, knowing all too well rations would have to be cut soon. Assuming, of course, that they lived through the next 24 hours. Marion joined them. "What're you having?"

Max looked down at his dinner pack. "I'm pretty sure it's fish."

Sheila licked her fingers. "Barbecue chicken wings."

Senefa used her chopsticks deftly. "Just some rice balls."

Marion looked down at her dinner pack. "Shoot. I don't want to trade anything for that…" Her voice trailed off. "What's that noise?" Sheila was instantly on her feet, binoculars up and looking. There was no movement among the Smoke Jaguar 'Mechs. The MechWarriors and Elementals had been eating as well, she could see, but now they stopped.

"It sounds like…drums?" Max said.

Finally, the noise grew loud enough that they could hear it. It was coming from a shrine built on a tall mound along the river in the middle of Iwakuni town; the shrine was dedicated to Susanoo, the Shinto god of the sea. Sheila moved her binoculars there and saw, incredibly, a band, dressed in impeccable Smoke Jaguar uniforms, nearly invisible in the fading light. As the drums rolled, trumpets and bugles began to play.

"Now what the hell?" Marion exclaimed. "What, are they trying to serenade us or something?"

"That son of a bitch," Sheila whispered. "Furey, you son of a bitch."

"What? What is it?" Senefa asked. She exchanged glances with Marion, who shrugged. "I do not recognize the tune."

"It seems our opposite number took Sheila's advice to heart," Max said softly. "The tune's called the Deguello. It's an old Spanish tune—originally, it was Moorish."

"Deguello?" Marion strained to listen to it. "What's that mean?"

Senefa smiled thinly. "In Spanish, it means slit throat. Or no quarter. It depends on the dialect."

"Ha." Marion now grinned fiercely. "Fine by me. Won't be the first time I've kicked in cockpits. He wants no quarter, he's got it." She saw Maysa and Dan coming up to them. Her grin faded at them holding hands, but she thumbed towards the town and the band, which was still playing. "Check this out. The Jaguars are trying to scare us."

Maysa for once ignored her guardian. "Sheila?" she asked, so quietly at first she had to repeat herself. When Sheila turned around, she hesitated, gave a sort of half-bow, and asked, "Sheila, would you marry us? Dan and me?"

"_What?!"_ everyone within earshot shouted, drowning out the Deguello.

"This isn't the time for a joke!" Sheila yelled.

Maysa squinted against the vocal gale. "I'm not—we're not joking," she replied calmly. "We want to get married. Right now."

"For the love of Freud, _why?_" Max asked.

With more than a nervous look at a rapidly purpling Marion, Dan said, "Because we love each other."

"What the fuck do you know about love?" Marion snarled. "Get away from my daughter!" She shoved him, but he bravely stood his ground and shoved her back. Astounded by his temerity, Marion stumbled and nearly fell. "_I love her!"_ he yelled, startling everyone. It echoed off the mesa and the Deguello actually faltered for a moment. Dan looked around, embarrassed, but he repeated firmly, "I love her." He met Marion's eyes. "Please, Major Rhialla. I know it's sudden, but it's true. I love your daughter. I'll take care of her. You have my word as an officer and a gentleman. I…I have nothing but my salary, but we'll make it. I swear on my honor." He dropped to one knee and bowed his head. "Major Marion Rhialla, I formally ask your permission to marry your daughter."

Marion blinked. Now everyone was staring at her. She looked helplessly at Sheila, who looked confused, then to Max, who spread his hands, and then to Senefa, who was smiling, vastly amused at the spectacle. Marion said the first thing that sprang to her mind: "Maysa, are you pregnant?"

"No!" Maysa exclaimed, wondering if she could stay conscious long enough to do this. "No, Mom. Nothing's happened yet. I mean, nothing's…we wouldn't…it wouldn't be, uh, proper."

"So you're marrying to get authorized ass?" Marion whirled on Dan, but he said nothing, remaining on one knee. She looked from him to Maysa, who suddenly knelt as well. "Mother, I formally ask your permission to marry Daniel Polycutt." Sheila, who was feeling about as light-headed at Maysa, was thinking that if ever there was a time for the Smoke Jaguars to attack, this was it. No one was paying attention to anything but the tableaux in front of the _Battlemaster_.

"Maysa?" Marion asked, nearly in a whisper. "Do you love this guy?"

"Yes," Maysa answered instantly.

Marion stared for a long time into the distance. It was dead quiet on the mesa. Finally, at length, Marion said, "Well, I'll be damned."

Maysa sneaked a glance upwards. "Is…is that a yes?"

Marion looked at them one more time. "Yes. Yes, it is." She bit her lip to keep from crying. "Oh dammit, Sheila, go ahead and marry them!"

Sheila was still stunned. "Me? Why me?"

"Because you're the Commander, that's why." Marion decided on two things. One, if she was going to be blindsided, then Sheila would be too; and two, she was shortly going to get very drunk, Jaguars or no Jaguars.

"I can do that?" Sheila was still a few steps behind.

"Actually, yes, you can," Max informed her.

"Er…well…uh…they didn't really go over this at the Nagelring…" Now all eyes were on her. Maysa and Dan got to their feet, turned, and stood at attention. Maysa was still dressed in her MechWarrior gear, which was hardly appropriate for a wedding, and Dan was in stained fatigues. _Well, at least the Deguello's stopped,_ Sheila thought, not that the scene could be any more bizarre. Still, it was quiet, a quick glance over the parapet showed that the Jaguars were not marshalling for an attack, and the sun was a brilliant, gorgeous orange setting over the mountains. She licked her lips, tried to remember her own wedding ceremony, and started. "Um…let's see…dearly beloved, we are gathered here today—uh, tonight, in…" She couldn't remember the next words.

Max, luckily, did. "In the presence of these witnesses…" He motioned around, and a great whoop went up from the rapidly gathered MechWarriors and militiamen.

"Which is commended to be honorable among all men," Senefa intoned perfectly, and Sheila wondered where a Clanswoman had learned a marriage ceremony.

"Ah, right. And, uh, therefore, this is pretty serious, not to be entered into lightly or easily, so you'd better be right about this, you two…" Sheila knew she was messing it up, but pressed on regardless. "If anyone here can say why these two can't get married, they'd better say so or forever hold their peace."

"And if anyone says anything, I'll step on them!" Cecilia Masterson yelled from her _Zeus_, parked alongside the _Battlemaster._ There was laughter at that, but obviously no one was saying anything.

"Hold on a second." Felisanna pushed through the crowd, holding a scrap of parachute fabric and a handful of flowers, which were clearly artificial. Sheila wondered where Felisanna had gotten them, but they were clean. She stuck the parachute fabric on Maysa's head and pushed down the front. It was hardly a veil, given that it was opaque, but it was better than nothing. She shoved the flowers into Maysa's hands. "Here. Best I could do on short notice."

"Where did you get them?" Max asked.

"Don't ask," Felisanna told him, and melted back into the crowd.

"Okay." Sheila was pretty sure she was on the right track now. "Who gives this woman to be wedded to this man?"

Marion stepped forward. "Oh, hell. I guess that's me."

"I'll stand for Dan." Max took up a position to Dan's right. "Okay with you?" Dan nodded quickly.

"Senefa, will you be my maid of honor?" Maysa motioned to the Clanswoman.

"It would be _my_ honor." Senefa stood to Maysa's left, unsheathed the staff, and snapped it into place. Sheila wondered just how much reading Senefa had done about marriages.

"Moving right along…" Sheila turned to Dan. "Do you, Daniel Martin Polycutt"—luckily Sheila remembered his full name— "take this girl—uh, this woman, Maysa Bari Rhialla, as your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, getting rid of all others, until death…" Sheila stumbled over that; death was far too close. "Until death do you part?"

"I do," Dan said firmly and clearly.

"Then do you, Maysa Bari Rhialla…" Sheila repeated the words, and Maysa, now grinning dementedly, her teeth all Sheila could see under the so-called veil, squeaked out, "I do!"

"Does someone have a ring? Oh." Dan held up Maysa's bandaged finger. "Well, close enough." Sheila mentally skipped all she remembered about exchanging rings, which wasn't much—during her marriage, she and Max had slipped their rings around each other's necks on chains, because Sheila's ring finger had been dislocated by Senefa in the Circle of Equals and been too tender. "Then, because Maysa Bari and Daniel Polycutt have desired each other—" _That's an understatement,_ she thought "—and we have witnessed this before God and, um, this battalion, and because they have pledged their love to each other, sealing their vows and stuff…" Everyone winced at that, and Sheila knew she'd better finish it up. "Then, by the power vested in me as commanding officer, Snowbirds Special Missions Combined Arms Team, I do pronounce you husband and wife. You can kiss the bride, Dan."

He threw off the veil, Maysa threw her arms around him, and they embraced. Absently, she pitched the flowers into the crowd. It was so sudden that no one realized it, and the hands that caught the ersatz bouquet were the calloused ones of Nicia Caii. The tall woman looked down at them, said "No, I'm already married to my 'Mechs," and absently handed them to an astounded Tessya Blackthorn. "Now throw her garter belt!" Tooriu yelled out. Elfa smashed him with a slap.

Maysa and Dan finally broke off their kiss, and she literally leapt with joy. Cheers and clapping broke out all over the mesa, and Sheila wondered what the Jaguars would make of _that._ She leaned forward and whispered, "You've got three hours, you two. Use it wisely." Maysa and Dan turned red and nodded. Marion gave the deepest sigh Sheila had ever heard, kissed Dan on both cheeks, then Maysa, and then walked away quickly before they could see her cry.

Saburo Soryu gathered the militiamen into two lines, snapped to attention and bellowed, "_Keirei!"_ As one, the militia drew their bayonets and formed a hall of steel for the couple to pass through; Soryu drew his katana, matched with Senefa's staff. Once they were through, waiting at the far end was Masterson's _Zeus_ and Bien Canonizado's _Victor_, which crossed weapon arms. They were followed with catcalls and ribald hoots as they made their way to the _Minerva_, surrounded by well-wishers.

"That's the weirdest damn thing I've ever been through," Max told Sheila.

"Roger that." Sheila shook her head in wonder. "That's a hell of a way to start a siege, isn't it?"


	9. Attack

_AUTHOR'S NOTES: Well, I'm back and I'm still alive. Can't ask for more than that. Actually, yes I can, because I'm going to need some _more _surgery. The doc couldn't take care of everything in one shot. He needs 31__st__ Century technology! "Just throw some myomers in there, Doc!" _

_Anyhow, here's the next chapter, and despite the long lead-in, we finally get to the battle in this chapter. I felt I needed to throw a little more character-building in this chapter; we usually get to see what's going on in Sheila and Max's heads, but I thought Marion Rhialla deserved a little bit too. (One of the reviewers of _Snowbird's Rubicon _mentioned that Marion needed someone too, and I finally found a spot where it was appropriate to do so.) I also felt that Senefa Malthus would be affected by Maysa and Dan's quickie marriage, so I wanted to set something up with that too. (Incidentally, Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain's _The Passing of the Armies _was one of my Christmas presents.)_

_The battle of Toriyama will incorporate a lot of different elements, but it mainly is based on the Battle of the Alamo (1836) and Rorke's Drift (1879), especially the latter. (Sheila essentially directly quotes Michael Caine at one point in this chapter from the movie _Zulu._) However, I'll probably also put a bit of Masada (79 AD) and the stand of the 20th Maine on Little Round Top (1863) as well, the latter especially in this story. _

_On with the show… _

_REVIEWER'S CORNER:_

_The Canonizados: Merry Christmas to you as well, and a Happy New Year!_

_Flashpoint: Thanks for the get well. I'm trying. As for the characters, I'm really interested you feel that way about Char Furey. I was kind of writing him like your stereotypical Smoke Jaguar bastard, and it's fascinating to see people take him completely just the opposite. _

_RogueBaron: It's going to add some headaches, of course. I addressed some of your concerns about Senefa in this chapter. I won't give anything away about Furey, but I can tell you he's not mild-mannered…_

_Jason Weiser: I haven't forgotten about Elfa being heavily pregnant, that much I'll say. And I imagine the Sentinels are pretty interesting to be around—half of them seem to be marrying the other half. As for Furey, I hadn't thought of the searchlight idea (that's a good one; the Germans used that trick during the Bulge). You're right about the night attacks._

_MUSIC CORNER: "Time Stand Still" by Rush (Usagi actually quotes the song at one point), "Battle at Devil's Den" from the _Gettysburg _soundtrack, and "Night on Bald Mountain" by Mussorgsky. It's probably not appropriate, but I was listening to Enya's new CD while writing this, and her version of "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" seemed oddly fitting as well._

* * *

_Toriyama_

_Kagoshima, Pesht District, Draconis Combine_

_31 December 3051_

Marion Rhialla sat on the wide "back" of her _Palladium_, staring up at the stars. It was cold and getting colder, but she didn't feel it. Of course, that might be because of the bottle of sake she had already consumed. Despite that, she was not drunk, but annoyingly still sober. Marion had no desire to drink herself into oblivion—the Smoke Jaguars would almost certainly assault Toriyama at some point—but pleasantly bemused would be fine. It wouldn't be the first time she had fought drunk; Sheila would never know, but Marion had once shared her fear of combat drops, and heavy drinking had been the only thing to get her through it.

Tears appeared at the corners of her eyes, and she angrily swiped at them. That had happened several times already, every time she thought of Maysa, _her_ Maysa, undoubtedly in the throes of passion on her three-hour honeymoon. She wanted to hate Dan Pollycutt for taking Maysa away, but then she hated herself for thinking that. Pollycutt was an honorable man, and the reasons why he had married Maysa were the same reasons why Marion loved her adopted daughter so.

She heard the thump of footsteps on the ladder up the side of her 'Mech. She half-expected to see Sheila or Max, coming up to offer words of comfort, which she didn't want. If it had been Elfa, she would've used the external ammunition hoist to ride up. Marion didn't want to see her either: Elfa's pregnancy would just remind Marion of either Maysa or her own failed marriages and fruitless attempts at having children. There was a small but significant amount of female MechWarriors who had been sterilized through too much exposure to gamma radiation released when a 'Mech's engine exploded, and Marion was one of them.

To her surprise, it was Miroku Usagi. She propped herself up on one elbow. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Usagi smiled. "I thought you might be cold." He tapped a finger on the blanket wrapped around his torso.

"Got a thermal blanket already."

"But it appears you are out of this." He held up a bottle of sake, a big one.

Marion shrugged, which Usagi took as confirmation. He walked over to her, spread out the blanket, and sat down. "It's probably not a good idea for us to be drinking like this together," she told him. "Your cadets are going to need you, and it's tough commanding when you're foxed."

"I can hold my liquor," Usagi assured her. "Besides, the Smoke Jaguars won't attack for a few hours yet." At her questioning glance, he pointed skyward. "They'll wait until the moon sets or for dawn. Right now we can see every move they make without the use of IR or UV."

Marion thought that made sense, so she uncorked the sake bottle, took a drink, and handed it over to Usagi. He raised an eyebrow. "I thought that we might drink a toast, you and I."

"To what?"

"To your daughter's marriage."

Marion was just feeling enough of the sake's effects to answer that straight. "You honestly think I would drink to that?"

Usagi took a pull on the bottle. "No…I suppose not." He looked up at the sky and was quiet for some time. "It's hard getting old, isn't it?"

Marion raised the sake. "I'll drink to _that_."

He continued speaking. "You look around you and realize that your children have grown up and your old friends are growing older. Those that are still alive. All of a sudden, you realize that you yourself are no longer immortal and that you have less time left than you thought." He took the bottle from her and drank. "You suddenly realize you stand a good chance of dying in a hospital bed, hooked up to machines, when you were sure you would die quickly and gloriously in a 'Mech explosion. You start wondering what it is that you will leave behind you."

Marion stared at him. "That's pretty eloquent for a guy that's nowhere near drunk. Why are you telling me this?"

Usagi sighed and handed her back the bottle. "Because where you are, I once was. My wife and I raised our only child, a daughter, to never become a MechWarrior. I purposely concealed my job until Reiko was ten, then I took the assignment at Sun Zhang though it meant a demotion. We sent Reiko away to a college on Iruzun, as far away from the frontiers and MechWarriors as I thought we could get." He laughed. "Then I got a ComStar message from her that she had married a MechWarrior in the Ryuken-ni. Without our permission, though we had never required her to ask for it."

"I take it you weren't pleased."

"I wanted to disown her. My wife talked me out of it. Two years ago Reiko presented us with our first grandson. Her husband is a good man. I misjudged him. It turned out to be a good match." He motioned at the _Minerva_. "I think your daughter's husband is also a good man. In her case, it's even more destiny, or karma, or whatever word you like: Maysa is a MechWarrior, you're a MechWarrior—it's only natural. We tend to be a pretty cliquish bunch. I see you have several MechWarrior couples in the Snowbirds."

"So you're married?" Marion asked.

"No longer. She died two years ago. January 4. Heart attack—sudden and almost instantly fatal. She did live long enough to see our grandson." He sighed again. "It would be rather interesting if I should die on the same day she did."

Marion took a long swig. "If you're trying to make me feel better about this, it's not working."

"So be it." He leaned back on his elbows. "I take it then that you're not married."

"I was. Twice. Didn't work out. The first guy I married because I was young and stupid—like Maysa—and the second guy I married because I was 38, lonely, broke, and still stupid. Both of them turned out to be duds." She pushed the sake towards him. "You're right. It sucks getting old."

"How old are you?"

"54."

"You don't appear to be."

"You flattering me?" It was Marion's turn to raise an eyebrow.

Usagi's smile returned. "Is it that obvious, and is it working?"

"How old are you?" she asked instead.

"52." He unabashedly looked her up and down. "I must admit a certain attraction to older women."

Marion wasn't sure to smash the sake bottle over Usagi's head and throw him off her 'Mech, or return the compliment. It might be the sake, but Usagi was starting to look rather fetching himself. "Are you trying to seduce me, Sho-sa?"

"You are lonely. I am lonely. We do not have the inclination to seek younger game. Neither of us have touched another's body in some time. And we are both deeply missing someone at the moment, somewhat tipsy, and neither of us truly believe we're getting off this mountain alive." He shrugged. "I suppose I am, Major."

"Good." Marion unzipped her jacket and threw it aside.

Usagi spread out the blanket and also took off his coat, and then her boots. "I must say that I have never done this sort of thing atop a BattleMech."

Marion grinned hungrily. "Don't worry. I have." She pushed him back against the blanket.

* * *

Maysa Bari awoke with a start. Her senses sharpened, listening, but there was no sound but the usual noises aboard a DropShip. She looked down at herself, in the covers, and then next to her and Daniel Polycutt, her husband. He was already awake and smiled at her, leaning back against the pillows, hands behind his head. Maysa blushed deeply, because they were both naked, but she returned the smile. "Oh, cool," she whispered, "it wasn't a dream."

"Nope. And I've got the scars to prove it." He exaggerated being in pain from his back, but not by much. Maysa had been rather enthusiastic. Of course, Dan had nothing to gauge her performance by. It had been his first time too.

She nestled next to him and ran her hands over his chest. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you. It just…" She threw up a hand helplessly, unable to describe their lovemaking adequately.

"Yeah, I know." He looked at the ceiling, almost invisible in the darkness. "I'm the one who should be sorry. This isn't what I wanted for our honeymoon. Three or four hours in a cramped DropShip cabin surrounded by Smoke Jag—"

Maysa put a finger on his lips. "Shhh. That doesn't exist. They don't exist. All we have is right now."

Dan embraced her. "And two more hours."

* * *

Senefa Malthus leaned back in the seat of her _Thunderbolt_. She made one quick sweep of the ground in front of her, visually. All BattleMechs carried both radar and magscan, the latter of which picked up large amounts of ferrous metals in the planet's magnetic field—such as BattleMechs. She left both off. From her eyrie on Toriyama's northwest corner, an accident in the terrain had given her the perfect sniper's perch: she could see everything for kilometers, but an enemy would be hard pressed to see her. Nothing moved in the moonlight, but Senefa guessed it would not. The Smoke Jaguars liked to attack by night, but it would be suicidal until Kagoshima's largest moon set, which it would very soon. Scan completed, she settled back again to wait.

Like most MechWarriors, Inner Sphere or Clan, Senefa hated waiting, but she had carefully trained her mind not to dwell on the coming battle. What happened would happen, and while she rehearsed two dozen courses of action once the shooting started, she did not overthink it, which Senefa thought Sheila Arla-Vlata had a tendency to do. Instead, she turned her mind to more philosophical pursuits.

Clan MechWarriors were not exactly encouraged to read outside of technical manuals and the Remembrance, the Clans' ongoing epic poem. It was thought that certain books might hold dangerous ideas for MechWarriors to have; Clan warriors were supposed to obey orders immediately and without question, not to concern themselves with anything beyond that duty. Still, Clan MechWarriors were not restricted from reading either, and even before her defection, Senefa had been an avid reader. After joining the Snowbirds, she had expanded her reading, since she had little else to do during her free time. She was quite capable of reading a book while remaining fully alert, but tonight Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain's _The Passing of the Armies_ was simply not holding her interest. Instead, her mind was dwelling on something she was unused to: loneliness.

That surprised her. Clan training emphasized individual achievement, and so by the time they graduated from their sibko, it was not at all uncommon for the surviving members to pull away from each other. Some sibkin still remained close throughout their entire careers, but most replaced the once-close bonds of the sibko with the larger whole of the Clan. As such, one should never be lonely emotionally. As for physical loneliness, that was easily fixed. If one was still close to sibkin, they were usually the first to be called on for sexual satisfaction and rarely was the offer refused. Senefa was not close to her sibkin, but her physical beauty meant that she was rarely lacking for partners if she so chose.

That had changed once she had come to the Inner Sphere. She had really been quite busy, but a few times she had caught herself admiring certain males of the Snowbirds and wondering if they might be up for a little coupling. The problem was, the Spheroids had these strange ideals of marriage. Freebirth merchants and occasionally freebirth warriors practiced that in Clan society, but certainly not trueborn Clan warriors, and Senefa was mystified by it. Still, the bonds of marriage were honorable ones, and Senefa did not make any attempt to break them. The single men of the Snowbirds had possibilities, but even they seemed to demand more than Senefa was willing to give.

Maysa and Dan's marriage had brought these peculiar feelings on. Alone amongst the witnesses to the "ceremony," such as it was, Senefa had noticed that there were a lot of sudden departures afterwards, as sweethearts sought each other out and married couples also seemed to find time and space to renew their relationship. It was likely highly unmilitary to do so, but they were surrounded and under siege, and there was certainly no guarantee that any of them would see the next dawn. Senefa knew that, for all of Furey's bluster and flamboyant music-playing, he was not joking about giving the garrison no quarter. It had been that tomorrow-we-die feeling that had run like a virus through Toriyama. Senefa had no such feelings, but she had felt terribly alone. She had thought about talking to Sheila about it, as they often had philosophical talks about the differences between the two societies of Clan and Inner Sphere, but it was obvious from Sheila's expression after the ceremony that she had other things on her mind, all of which centered on Max. Senefa realized that the only person she knew of in the entire galaxy that would understand would be the Elemental, Vornzel. She wished, somewhat unClanlike, that he was here.

Senefa closed her eyes a moment, remembering, then opened them again. Something moved in the corner of her eye. She leaned forward and magnified the image. The Smoke Jaguars were moving.

"You had best be not coupling," Senefa said to herself, then keyed the mike. "Falcon Six to Snowbird Actual. Spot report. Enemy 'Mechs, left front, coming out of Iwakuni."

* * *

Sheila was in her 'Mech, half-asleep, feeling rather satisfied, as she usually did after a "session" with Max. His _Battlemaster_ was a little cramped as always, but they managed. She was glad they had some time together. Sheila felt complete, like there was nothing left undone should she get killed here. Now, with no distractions, she could fight—and with Senefa's message, it looked like the fight was about to begin.

No alarms went off on the base. Sheila wanted the Smoke Jaguars to think that the defenders were unaware and asleep. She quickly checked in with her Command Lance; all were present. Little scooters that Elfa had essentially stolen from Iwakuni and Levine's village were taking those MechWarriors not yet up and ready to their machines. Elfa, Marion, and David Moore checked in, but Usagi was a little slow in doing so. Sheila wondered what that was all about. Sheila made a quick transmission to Megan O'Reilly on the south face, but there was no activity there.

With a wave at Max, Sheila crept her _Shruiken_ forward, just enough to see down the mesa. The Smoke Jaguars were completing a turning movement, and stopped for a few moments. Then they came on, in a long line, twenty 'Mechs across. Their advance was methodical, slow and careful. Sheila watched several 'Mechs slip a little on the loose slope, but they maintained their spacing. _That's strange,_ Sheila thought. _They can't be that arrogant._ Had the situation been reversed, Sheila would have sent her swifter 'Mechs up the slope at full speed, to pin the defenders, while the heavier 'Mechs savaged the crest with fire. She also would've launched an airstrike for good measure, but the skies were clear.

Something didn't seem right. Sheila spoke into her radio mike. "Claw Six, Snowbird Actual. Is there any activity your sector?"

"Negative, Snowbird. All quiet here."

"San from Snowbird Actual. Any movement your sector?"

"Negative, Snowbird," Hohiro Noribetsu answered. "No movement."

_This is damn peculiar. Twenty 'Mechs is a bit big for a probe. And there's nothing behind this attack. He's up to something._ Sheila looked at the range counter in her HUD. 900 meters. Her weapons were ineffective beyond 570 meters, but Senefa's Gauss Rifle could hit at almost 700. "Claw, Snowbird. I want illumination on all sectors in ten seconds. Break. Falcon Six, open fire when you're in range."

"Aff." Senefa settled the crosshairs on a _Mad Cat_. She looked for Furey's _Masakari_, but she didn't see it. Increasing the magnification, she smiled. The _Mad Cat_ had tactical symbols and stripes on its arms indicating that the pilot was a Star Commander. The Clans had quickly learned to paint those out after the first wave of attacks on the Inner Sphere; the Spheroids were apt to concentrate fire on the officers. The 17th Jaguar Regulars still had a lot to learn. Slowly, the range counted down. When it reached the limit of her range, Senefa made a minute shift in her aim and fired. The crack of the Gauss shell going through the speed of sound echoed across the valley. The shell spun and struck the _Mad Cat_ in the left leg. "Freebirth," Senefa cursed softly. The Jaguar had moved at the last moment.

"Snowbirds, on line!" Sheila shouted. Instantly seven lances of 'Mechs took four paces forward and took up position on the wall. The Jaguars continued to advance, but a few fired in Senefa's direction. The shots were ineffective, as her _Thunderbolt_ was practically invisible. Sheila looked at her range counter. 590 meters. "Snowbirds, at 540 meters, volley fire, present!" 28 'Mechs ranged in, picking targets, raising arms and opening missile ports. Now the Jaguars began moving faster, their radar warning recievers going off, the MechWarriors realizing that the garrison was ready and waiting. "_Fire!"_ Sheila yelled. Behind her, Kurita mortarmen dropped illumination rounds into their tubes, and a second later the north slope of Toriyama was bathed in white light.

Five Jaguar 'Mechs were hit in the initial volley, and three went down, but none were destroyed, and those hit, after sliding backwards a few meters, got back to their feet. The firing on both sides began in earnest. The Jaguar fire tore holes in the wall, but no Snowbird 'Mechs were hit. Sheila fired both PPCs at a _Thug_, one hitting the 'Mech's left arm and sending its return fire wide.

Still the Jaguars advanced, though their line was now ragged. Sheila gave Furey credit: she saw 'Mechs like an _Exterminator_ and a _Lancelot_ that were faster than their comrades, but the Jaguar pilots did not race ahead of their brethren, but maintained a steady pace. The Jaguars were starting to find cover, but they were still coming.

Senefa, from her perch, suddenly spotted Furey's _Masakari_, and instantly shifted her aim, settling crosshairs on the 'Mech's blocky cockpit. Then another 'Mech, a light _Hermes_, crossed her sights, blocking her vision, so she depressed the Gauss Rifle slightly and fired. The 'Mech's head exploded as the Gauss shell punched clean through it.

* * *

Sheila ducked back as a PPC bolt tore a huge divot from the wall in front of her. The Jaguars were raking the slope, but it wasn't doing much; for once, it was the Clan warriors that were inexperienced and the Inner Sphere warriors who were not. Illumination rounds still went up, but not as often, though at the range the Jaguars were at, it really wasn't necessary any longer. The Snowbirds and the Sun Zhang MechWarriors' fire had slackened a little, and Sheila knew why: unlike the Jaguars, the Toriyama defenders only had so much ammunition, and it had to count. The defenders were being selective with their shooting, while the Jaguars simply fired as much as they could without overheating, trying to force the defenders to duck back behind the wall more than shoot over it. Sheila noticed her weapons display shift colors: her medium lasers were now in range, which meant the Jaguars were within 270 meters. Both sides could bring their secondary weapons into play now, which meant casualties would increase expotentially.

Sheila stepped back a pace, trying to get a view of the battle as a whole; she could not afford to get too concentrated on fighting other 'Mechs. Kahvi Falx moved in front of her, so that no one noticed the fire cease from her sector. Quickly, Sheila checked the Jaguars' attack: they were shying away from the left flank of the Snowbirds, because of Senefa's deadly accuracy—she had fired her Gauss Rifle only ten times, and each time she had hit something—and the sheer volume of fire from Marion Rhialla's Charlie Command. That was good in some ways, but bad in others, because now Furey's attack, instead of being a simple line-on-line slugging match, was beginning to concentrate its weight and fire on Max's Alpha Assault and Usagi's Command Lance. She saw only one friendly 'Mech down, but that was only the start.

"Snowbird Actual from San." Noribetsu's voice was carefully controlled. "Enemy 'Mechs to my front, coming in from Hikari Ridge. Enemy count ten 'Mechs, about twice that Elementals."

_Oh, you bastard,_ Sheila thought with a wry smile, _that's what you were doing._ The defenders were concentrating on the threat to their front, but now coming in on the right flank was a new Jaguar force. All she had on the right flank were Noribetsu's and O'Reilly's lances, neither of which were particularly heavy, Kinosh's infantrymen, and a scratch force of Toriyama militia. She had to reinforce them, fast.

"Claw Six! Any activity over there?" she yelled.

"No activity here, Snowbird." Moore was unflappable.

"Okay…break, break. Talisman, Brownoak, redeploy to the right flank." Sheila abruptly remembered something. "Lynx Six—"

"Already on my way, Snowbird," Shasti Buena answered. A quick glance showed her huge SRM Carrier and Natasha Tal's Sturmfeur trundling across the runways.

Sheila saw Kahvi's _Dragon_ stagger back, a huge hole in the oversized shoulders of the 'Mech. Her Ultra Autocannon/5 was glowing red from continual use. Sheila stepped forward and saw a huge _Highlander_ step forward and put one hand on the wall, raising the Gauss Rifle on its right arm to point at Mimi Stykkis and her _Crusader_. Sheila ran forward, jammed her twin PPC arm into the _Highlander's_ chest, and fired. The sudden attack caught the Jaguar MechWarrior by surprise and the 'Mech tumbled backwards, hit the slope, and slid nearly fifty meters. Sheila moved her _Shruiken's_ head left and right and saw Elfa's lance now in position. The Clan attack from Hikari Ridge was not moving as fast as it should be. The battle hung in the balance, Sheila could feel it hanging, and knew she had to do something. One look down to the left, and she knew what it would be.

"Charlie Trinary from Snowbird! Advance and attack the Jaguars' right! Attack their right flank!"

Marion saw what Sheila had in mind instantly. "Wolf Six, over the wall! Dari, Griffin, you too!"

"On my way!" Peter Nicholas let out a Russian war cry as his _Marauder_ pounded across from the west slope; he had already been edging towards the north face, hoping Marion wouldn't notice. Brefudd Dari's _Axeman_ and Glynnis Griffin's _Panther_ were already over the wall, but it was Tooriu Kku, without orders, who proved to be the one thinking the most. His entire lance, except for John Lawson's _Spartan_, had jumpjets.

"Fabian! Jinjiro! Follow me!" Kku triggered his jumpjets, lofted over the wall, and was quickly followed by Fabian Cynmar and Jinjiro Gramakov, the latter a refugee from the Sun Zhang Cadre, in their _Catapults._ Ignoring return fire spattering against his _Awesome_, Kku leveled his right arm PPC. "Let 'em have it, guys!"

"But—" Cynmar began, then decided the hell with it. He fired. Unlike Gramakov's _Catapult_, which boiled LRMs into the Jaguars, Cynmar's 'Mech only fired one missile—but it was an Arrow IV artillery missile, and the sudden appearance of the huge projectile sent a visible wave of panic through the Jaguar ranks. The missile roared through the formation and struck an already crippled _Exterminator,_ hit the ammunition magazine, and blew it apart.

The Jaguars hesitated. Furey turned and struck Tooriu with three PPC bolts, but the _Awesome_ stood tall and sent three more back. Now Charlie Heavy was in place, and the Jaguar right flank was being raked from two sides. Brefudd Dari waded in with his _Axeman_ and sent a _Great Wyrm_ reeling with an axe blow, then turned and attacked a _Crab._

Sheila saw a Jaguar _Flashman_ stop, fire at the wall, then begin to edge backward. Two more 'Mechs did the same. A _Black Knight_ stopped and moved a hand forward, obviously trying to rally the Jaguars for one last rush, but then the _Black Knight_ was tumbling down the slope, its head crushed by a Gauss shot from Senefa. That did it for the Jaguars. Star Commanders realized that they were being hunted by someone who was a crack shot, and they joined the retreat downhill.

"Charlie Trinary, back behind the wall!" Marion ordered. "Move it! Tiger Three! Break it off now!" Marion's sharp order brought Dari out of a killing frenzy; he had been simply hacking the _Crab_ to pieces with his axe. She switched frequencies to Sheila's. "Tiger to Snowbird. They're retreating."

"Hold what you have and cease firing. I'm moving to the right." Sheila reached under her helmet and wiped sweat from her brow. _That was close._ Now she had to see how her right flank was getting along. On her way, she spotted Furey's _Masakari_, now far below the slope. He raised one weapon arm, but she wasn't sure if he was saluting her or not.

* * *

The Smoke Jaguar commander on Hikari Ridge was Star Captain Zellos, and he found himself dealing with several problems at once. First, he had jumped off his starting point on time, only to be told to slow down, because the assault on the north face of Toriyama was taking longer than anticipated due to the poor terrain. Second, he had been confronted with the problem of Gateway Rock. If he threw his entire force north of the karst protrusion, he could only use one Star at a time, which would make it easy for the defenders to hold him off with minimal forces. If he threw it to the south, he wouldn't help Star Colonel Furey's assault. So he split the difference, sending Stars north and south of Gateway Rock, while assigning his Elementals to assault the Rock itself.

Zellos had been hit with LRMs almost immediately, and returned fire. The missiles had slackened almost immediately, and seeing his commander in trouble, Zellos ordered his Star to charge. They had hugged the side of Gateway Rock, ignoring the infantry above firing at them with rifles and throwing grenades. To their horror, they came out from behind the peak to find Noribetsu's lance on their left flank, behind the wall, with Usagi's hard-pressed Command Lance to their front. What made things infinitely worse was they were also within range of the guns of the DropShip _Minerva_, which unleashed a deluge of missile and laserfire. The _Minerva's_ gunsights were calibrated to fire at fighters and other DropShips, so the fire was inaccurate, but the sheer volume of it was enough to cause Zellos to pull back his Star. He hoped Star Commander Rally was doing better on the southern approach.

* * *

Rally had a heavy Star of her own _Highlander,_ plus a _Flashman,_ a _Champion,_ a _Lancelot,_ and even a huge _Atlas._ Opposing the Star was O'Reilly's medium lance: her and Felisanna's _Wolfhound_, and the Drakon siblings in their _Blackjacks._ Here, the DropShips couldn't help. By sheer accident, Star Commander Rally had found the weakest spot in Toriyama's line.

O'Reilly stood her ground, knowing it was suicidal but needing to buy time for help to arrive. The _Champion_ charged forward and she concentrated on that. The Clan 'Mech staggered and fell back under the large laser fire of the lance, but then Rally's other 'Mechs came into range. The _Flashman_ sent two laser bolts into the shoulder of O'Reilly's _Wolfhound_, spinning it completely around, just in time for it to be savaged by missiles from the _Atlas_. Felisanna crabwalked over to try and give the _Atlas_ a different target, only to have her 'Mech's left hand amputated for her trouble by a Gauss shot. The _Flashman_ moved in for the kill, the MechWarrior spotting Betsy Drakon's _Blackjack_ moving in, but deciding to ignore it; the 75-ton Clan 'Mech could handle a few laser hits. Thus it came as a complete surprise when she raised the right arm of her 'Mech: the Autocannon/20 there vomited shells that gouged out huge craters across the _Flashman's_ torso and caused the 'Mech to fall from sheer surprise. Now it was Drakon that moved in to finish off her prey, only to find herself bracketed by the _Lancelot_, which stepped over the wall. "Somebody pot this guy!" she yelled to no one in particular.

Two PPC bolts came out of nowhere, tracking into the _Lancelot's_ chest and sending the Jaguar reeling backwards with internal damage. Elfa had arrived. She marched her _Loki_ into the fight. The Jaguars halted in confusion, not sure if the new forces were enemy or if Furey had broken through. They found out quick enough as Larry Stohr's _Dragonfly_ and Michael Vragel's _Ryoken_ arrived on scene. Now being hit with weapons that matched their own, and hearing the call for retreat on the north slope, Rally pulled her Star back. The Elementals, who had also not been willing to risk DropShip guns and not knowing just how thin Nisa Kinosh's line was atop Gateway Rock, also abandoned their attack. Aside from trading long-range shots, the battle around Toriyama wound down.

Elfa blew out her breath. It had been very close. "Brownoak to Snowbird. We're secure down here, but you might want to send some help. I've got some heavily damaged 'Mechs down here.  
"On the way," Sheila replied. "San, how are you?"

"Just fine, Snowbird. They never got close."

"Good. Brownoak, who's down?"

Seeing O'Reilly getting back to her feet and throwing her a thumbs-up, Elfa began, "Just damaged. No one's down—" Then she saw Betsy Drakon's _Blackjack_ spreadeagled at her feet, the head holed and smoking.

* * *

Rainbow Levine walked out of the main hangar into the weak sunshine of dawn, pulling her coat tightly against her. She had spent the battle in an underground bunker beneath the hangar, and the sounds had largely been muffled. She wasn't sure what to expect in the dawn, but to her surprise, nothing much seemed to have changed. She could see smoke rising from her right at Gateway Rock, and a little from the north face of Toriyama, but that was all. "I guess Sheila must have won," she said aloud. She wondered how much the Smoke Jaguars had pressed the attack, or maybe if Arla-Vlata was as good as she had heard her MechWarriors brag. Either way, it wasn't really her problem. She just wanted it to be over so she could go home. If there was a home left.

Levine heard someone groan in pain and turned to see a Kurita militiaman limping along, supported by a female friend who was really not big enough. Instinctively, she went over, grabbed the other arm, and put it around her shoulder. "Steady there," she told the soldier. "What's happened?"

"Picked up some shrapnel in my foot," the soldier gritted out. "Hurts like hell." He motioned at its ankle.

"For one thing, quit putting pressure on it. Where's the hospital?"

"The big DropShip," the other said.

Levine helped the two soldiers to the DropShip and up the ramp. She smelled antiseptic and headed in that direction. When they reached the small infirmary, they saw several people standing outside. With a professional eye, Levine deduced that these men and women would be fine, as would the soldier she was helping. Setting him down, she went into the infirmary, only to be stopped by a medic. "Where do you think you're going?" he demanded.

"I'm a trained nurse. I can help."

The medic hesitated, then nodded. He motioned to a sink and some scrubs. Levine instantly understood, quickly but thoroughly washed her hands and face, then donned a surgical smock and mask. She walked through a curtain and into the surgical theater. An older doctor turned at the intrusion and recognized her. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I'm a nurse," she repeated. "Do you need assistance?"

Jotaro Honma pointed at the patient, a young woman. "You're damn right we do. Get in here. She's taken shrapnel in the stomach."

Levine put her mask on and helped Honma. The young woman was a mess—between Honma, Levine, and two other assistant medics, they picked two dozen pieces of glass and metal from the woman's abdomen. Levine noticed signs of infection as well. "What happened to her?" she asked as Honma gently lifted a fingernail piece of metal from the small intestine. The woman was not exactly pretty, but she looked incredibly young to Levine.

"Got hit in the last part of the battle. Her instrument panel exploded. There we go." Honma sighed. "Well, she's lucky. I don't see any damage to her internal organs that we can't fix. I was worried about infection, but it doesn't look very bad at that."

"Infection?" Levine asked. It seemed a little sudden for that.

"Her cooling vest was torn open and some coolant spilled into her wounds. That can be nasty. We don't have that much antibiotics to go around."

"She's…a MechWarrior?" Levine was shocked. She was too young for that, surely.

"Yes. Betsy Drakon. Snowbirds. Suture laser, if you please, Miss Levine. Let's close her up." Levine hesitated. This girl was one of _them._ The militia she could accept. They had no choice. They were drafted into service. But the Snowbirds were mercenaries, they volunteered for this and fought for money.

"Miss Levine?" Honma repeated.

"Yes…yes, of course, Doctor. I'm sorry." She handed the instrument to Honma. Whatever this person was, she was still her patient.

* * *

Sheila leaned back in her ejection seat and cracked open the canopy a little to let in some cool air. All things considered, they had done very well. Several 'Mechs had taken damage, but only Betsy Drakon was down, and she was alive. Several infantrymen were also badly hurt, and CeeCee Masterson had been knocked silly by a medium laser hit on her canopy, but that was all. The Jaguars had dragged back their damaged 'Mechs, but the defenders had dropped at least four 'Mechs, with Senefa accounting for two almost certain kills. The Jaguars were reorganizing at the base of the ridge and had pulled back from Gateway Rock, but Sheila knew Furey would be coordinating with his commanders, trying to figure out what went wrong and why. That is, if he knew what he was doing.

"Snowbird Actual from Sasquatch Six. Sheila, you okay?" Max's message was tightbeamed towards her.

"I'm okay. How about you?"

"Just a little armor damage. I'm fine." The _Battlemaster_ moved towards her, close enough for Sheila to see Max. "What do you think? That was more than just a probe."

"We surprised them. He didn't coordinate his attack very well. He still got damned close." Sheila looked down at the impression the _Highlander's_ fingers had made in the walls.

"Think he'll make the same mistake twice?"

"Honestly?" Sheila shook her head. "No."

There was silence on the line, then Max spoke again. "Well, there is some good news."

"What's that?"

"We made it to another day."

Sheila looked up. Dawn was a pink line on the horizon. "There is that."


	10. Rage

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* * *

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AUTHOR'S NOTES: Sorry about the prolonged absence. Hopefully, I'm done with doctor visits for awhile, and I must admit I'm feeling better. At least I have a good excuse this time.

_I should be able to update more regularly from now on, but no promises, as I'm still teaching full-time. I'm also trying to actually get a _real _novel published (which I've been sporadically trying to do for the past four years), and I'm starting to actually make some real progress towards that goal. Maybe by the end of this year I'll know something more definite._

_I'm stunned by how many people like Char Furey, considering that I pretty much intended him to be your typical Smoke Jaguar bully-boy jerk. Since I do try to listen to my readers, I'm trying to change the character around some. I will warn you that I've already got one ruthless-yet-strangely-honorable Clan character (Cavell Malthus), and I don't want to make Furey a clone of him. Still, I'll try to make the Smoke Jaguars a little more three-dimensional, starting with this chapter._

_The battle was getting too long, so I'm dividing this into two chapters, the other I'll post later when it's finished up. _

_REVIEWER'S CORNER:_

_SweetAngel21: Glad you like the story, and thanks for taking the time to review! I can't promise anything about Char Furey. He's really not supposed to be that deep of a character…_

_Kat: Thanks as always. One day I'll get caught up with your stories too!_

_Hoya: That's quite a compliment! If I ever get some real books published, hopefully you'll feel the same about them._

_JillMarie: Uh oh. I'm starting to sense a bishonen vibe around Char Furey (that's what I get for naming him after Char Aznable). I'll try to do more with him, but as far as a recurring villain, most likely not. And I welcome you and all other female readers. Given that the main characters in the Snowbird stories are mostly female (Sheila, Senefa, Maysa, etc.), I enjoy hearing a female perspective on them._

_Mosin: I admit I lifted the "Kewl, it wasn't a dream" from _Sabrina Online, _but yeah, there's definitely a lot of Kaylee in Maysa. I figure Senefa's distaste for marriage would be appropriate for a trueborn Clanner, since they can't even think about natural childbirth without getting sick. Levine? We'll see._

_Voice of the Forests: I'm sensing that bishonen vibe again…_

_Canonizado Twins: I'm not saying anything about Felisanna and Bien right now (heh heh), but I don't mind if Rogue starts writing them into his Jihad story. The Bien of this world _could _have a twin sister, if you want him to, but she won't be showing up in the Snowbird stories. The Drakon twins are enough for one battalion._

_Panzerfaust: Someone once said that Marion needed some companionship too, so why not with someone she can relate to? _

_SulliMike: Yep._

_MUSIC CORNER: "The Battle" from _Gladiator, _the Propellerheads' remix of _On Her Majesty's Secret Service, _and "We Are Growing" from the _Shaka Zulu _soundtrack. Why the latter? You'll find out…_

* * *

_Iwakuni Village_

_Kagoshima, Pesht District, Draconis Combine_

_31 December 3051_

Iwakuni village was quiet. Normally, the inhabitants would be preparing for New Years' Day, which was a great holiday throughout the Draconis Combine. Traditionally, Buddhists throughout the Combine would the next day head to the nearest temple and wish for a prosperous and safe new year; the Christian minority would usually head to church to pray for the same. All Kuritans also cleaned their homes and towns anew, from the Coordinator all the way to the lowliest Periphery peasants, a tradition dating back to ancient Japan. Today, however, if anyone moved in Iwakuni, it was to leave town. The Smoke Jaguars were in a surly mood, and it was not a time to be noticed.

In the town's only inn, which had been taken over by Star Colonel Char Furey as his command post—both because it was comfortable and because it was less likely to be hit by artillery or an airstrike as the village courthouse—the Smoke Jaguar officers had gathered to figure out what had gone wrong the night before.

The 17th Smoke Jaguar Regulars were a typical garrison unit: a mix of veterans finishing out their careers and green warriors starting theirs. Unlike their Inner Sphere counterparts, where the veterans could look forward to retirement and the green warriors a posting to a more active unit (or, if they weren't feeling all that adventurous, a quiet, generally safe career), Clan garrison units were the last place any of its complement wanted to end up. Success in Clan society was measured by martial prowess, and for a veteran to end up in a garrison unit meant that he or she had failed to achieve enough to remain in a frontline unit, leaving them either looking forward to a bleak existence as an aging trainer of children, or a bitter death at the hands of raiders or pirates. New warriors in Clan garrison units were almost always freebirths, those second-class members of Clan society who were not genetically engineered to fight but still chose the military for a career, hoping to better their lot. They were usually disappointed. Trueborn Clan warriors usually saw freebirths as either cannon fodder or someone to guard the rear. Strangely enough, this combination could prove effective on the battlefield: older warriors sought a glorious, quick death against a worthy opponent, while younger ones sought to prove themselves worthy of more than derision. A few Clan commanders, such as Ulric and Natasha Kerensky of Clan Wolf, realized this and used garrison units for more than just rear guards or forlorn hopes; most, including nearly all Smoke Jaguars, did not.

Which, Star Commander Thom thought, was why the 17th Regulars were on Kagoshima, instead of on Juaziero guarding the Smoke Jaguar's right flank from raids. They all wanted death or glory, and somehow Char Furey had managed to convince the Khans of the Clan to allow him to attack Kagoshima. Furey had argued that surely House Kurita would strip the worlds within a jump of Luthien of troops to defend their capital, and an attack on Kagoshima might keep those potential reinforcements planetbound. Since it would happen before the main assault on Luthien—scheduled for January 5, 3052—there was even a possibility that a few Kurita units might take the bait, leave Luthien, and mistake the feint for the real attack. That was considered remote at best, since the Smoke Jaguar Khans were quite sure the Kuritans knew when and where the main push would be, but as Furey had said, it was only risking a mostly freebirth garrison cluster. The risks were small, the gain was great, and if the 17th Regulars ran into an elite Kurita unit using Kagoshima as a staging point and was wiped out, the unit was expendable, after all.

Thom stroked his goatee, of which he was quite proud. He was fifty, an age few Smoke Jaguar warriors reached, but Thom did not share many of his old comrades' thirst for a worthy death. As far as he was concerned, the Clan spent a lot of time and trouble to train a man like himself, and he owed his Clan to give them all he could for as long as he could. If that meant he was still fighting when he was pushing seventy, like that old bitch Natasha Kerensky, then so be it. He leaned back in his chair and inspected his fellow commanders.

Star Captain Zellos was a young freebirth, but who had already experienced the worst a MechWarrior could and survive: his face was a patchwork quilt of scar tissue and skin grafts, the best even advanced Clan medicine could do for a man whose cockpit had been set afire by a Kurita militiaman's Inferno round. Star Captain Dougray was also a freebirth, but one closing on forty, and big enough to be an Elemental with a temper to match. Elemental Star Captain Optimai, who supposedly commanded the Cluster's Elementals, was a tired old man trying to find an honorable way to die but never seemed able to do so. He was dominated by two female Elemental Star Commanders, Shannon and Meaghan, who were young, thirsting for glory, and held a thorough dislike for each other. Like the two Elementals, Star Commanders Rally and Faye were also young women; Faye was a stereotypical Smoke Jaguar bully, a freebirth who tried to be more trueborn than the trueborns. Rally was better, but Thom wondered if she was manic-depressive: one moment boisterous and the next withdrawn and sullen. Pilot Star Commanders Michaels and Kikki were not present; they considered their battles separate from the ground-pounders, which suited the MechWarriors and Elementals just fine. If anyone was more arrogant than a Smoke Jaguar MechWarrior, it was a Smoke Jaguar fighter pilot. Thom noticed an empty seat at the table: Star Commander Cray, who had been killed the night before.

Holding it all together was Char Furey. Rare, even in the more liberal Clan Wolf, did a Bloodnamed warrior command a garrison Cluster unless they were in disgrace. Even more rarely did one volunteer to command one. Furey had done both. Thom knew it was because Furey was ambitious; normally, a Clan warrior would have to wait until he was at least thirty before he commanded a Cluster, though there were exceptions to the rule. Furey was twenty-one.

Thom liked Char Furey, and had detected that the young man wanted to be liked. When he walked into the room, he was wearing a big grin underneath his waxed mustache, as if last night had been a great victory instead of a debacle. His uniform was impeccable. "Good morning, gentlemen and ladies." He took his seat to various mumbles in reply. "I am sorry to allow you only four hours of sleep, but we must plan this battle anew, quiaff?"

"What is there to plan?" Dougray churlishly said. "We know why the plan failed last night." He looked daggers across the table. "It is because Rally and Zellos got frightened and retreated on the cusp of victory."

Rally looked penitently at her lap, but Zellos shot to his feet. "The attack was delayed, Dougray! I ended up facing DropShips!"

"And at least we retreated in good order, and not in pell-mell flight like a bunch of mewling surats!" Shannon shouted. She rounded on Meaghan. "And where were you? Painting your toenails? Why was there no attack on the western slope?"

Meaghan glared back at Shannon. "I was never given orders to attack."

"A good commander does not _wait_ for an order to be given!" Faye snapped. "She marches to the sound of the guns!"

"And she—or he—is not afraid of those guns," Dougray added.

Furey's right eye began to twitch, and he slammed his hand down on the table. "That is enough! I do not want accusations, I want solutions!" He looked down the length of the table at Thom. "You have been remarkably quiet, Star Captain Thom."

"Do you want my honest opinion, Star Colonel?"

"Of course, my friend."

"The attack failed for two reasons." Thom gazed around the table. "One, it was not properly coordinated. Star Commanders Rally and Zellos jumped off on time, but had to advance three times as far as the main attack on the north slope. Attack orders for Star Commander Meaghan were never given in the heat of battle.

"Two, we were overconfident of victory. Too many people at this table last evening predicted an easy battle against cadets and mercenaries. It is time, Smoke Jaguars, that we realize we are up against a tough, experienced opponent who knows how to fight, unlike the cadets we faced at Greenfields."

"They were lucky. We should not have attacked at night," Dougray said.

"That is only part of it. A good warrior makes his own luck, Star Captain." Thom reached out and activated the holoprojector on the middle of the table. A map of Toriyama sprung into place. "In a siege such as this, attackers often win when their opponent has too much perimeter to defend. Here, however, it seems that Commander Arla-Vlata has enough forces to cover the perimeter, and moreover has even managed to gather a small reserve to react to breaches in the line. That is what stopped Star Commander Rally."

"You reported running into OmniMechs, Rally?" Furey asked.

"Yes, sir. They looked to be painted in Jade Falcon colors. I was unsure of what to do. We were not expecting to face our own equipment."

"Still, they must not have many of them." Furey sounded as if he was trying to reassure himself more than Rally. "What did the prisoners say, Elemental Shannon?"

"The cadets know nothing," Shannon shrugged. "The one Snowbird we have told us they have ten OmniMechs. I did not believe her, and she is now saying they have seven—three were lost fighting the Wolves on New Caledonia. It took some convincing on my part." Thom winced. Shannon had probably tortured the information from the Snowbird MechWarrior. The 17th Regulars lacked any means of chemical torture, so it was probably physical. He was sure he did not want to know.

Furey's expression was one of disdain for the Elemental, but he continued. "All right, then. We must renew the attack. Arla-Vlata will not simply surrender, as we had hoped." Thom knew Furey had sincerely hoped for that, as well. It would have been a great victory: Sheila Arla-Vlata and her Snowbirds had beaten the Jade Falcons and the Wolves, and for her to lay down her arms for a lowly Smoke Jaguar unit would have been a coup. Thom had privately assured Furey that people like that were not likely to simply surrender, but he had been brushed off. Furey was convinced that the Snowbirds must be exhausted from their constant fighting, and would have little interest in fighting for House Kurita. According to the information gleaned from other captured Inner Sphere prisoners, House Kurita and House Steiner-Davion hated each other, and would never cooperate. That made sense, since the Clans usually did not cooperate with each other either, and there was not 600 years of bad blood between them like there was the Kuritans and Davions.

Furey leaned forward. "Star Captain Dougray is correct. Attacking at night was a mistake, quiaff? We should not do that again. Instead, we will launch a fully-coordinated attack." He motioned at the map with broad gestures. "The 4th Trinary will attack up the northern slope, supported by my 1st Trinary. However, this will be a feint to pin down the defenders there." Dougray looked less than enthusiastic about that; he had taken the heaviest casualties of the night, leaving three 'Mechs on the slope and having several others heavily damaged. "Thom, you will take your Trinary and also make a feint, at where Zellos attacked last night, drawing the fire of the DropShips.

"Zellos, you and Rally will attack at the southeastern corner. We know one Inner Sphere 'Mech was destroyed there last night, and the defenses were weak. Two Stars should be able to break through. Once you are in the compound, you will turn north, invest the DropShips, and strike at the northern wall from behind."

"Sir?" Zellos sounded unsure of himself. "What about the DropShips?"

"I will take care of the DropShips," Thom assured him. "Once you are within a hundred meters of them, the DropShips will not be able to hit you. Most of their guns will not be able to be depressed low enough."

"Very good point, Thom." Furey now looked at the two Elementals. "You will attack up the southern slope, Shannon. Meaghan, you will attack the western slope. According to our reports, the village there is populated by pacifists, so you should have little trouble taking it. Your job, Elementals, is merely to pin any defenders on the western and southern slopes in place.

"Once you have broken through, Zellos, you will radio the code word 'Vesuvius.' That will be the signal for an all-out attack by all forces. With skill, Arla-Vlata will be attacked from all sides at once."

"Are we taking prisoners? I only ask because of your music last night, sir," Meaghan asked, referring to the Deguello.

Furey thought about it. "If they surrender, then yes. I leave it to commanders' discretion."

"I thought we were putting Toriyama to the sword," Faye said.

"If we must, Star Commander. I was merely trying to intimidate the defenders." Faye shook her head at that.

"If we promise to kill prisoners, we should do it," Dougray argued.

"Again, I leave it to your discretion." Furey sidestepped the question.

Dougray let that go for now. "I would like to ask a favor, Star Colonel."

"Certainly, Star Captain. What is it?"

"There is a very good shot on that mountain. It is who killed Star Commander Cray, and I wish to avenge him. With your permission, I would like to hunt that MechWarrior down and kill her…personally."

"Her?" Furey questioned. "How do you know the warrior is female?"

"I had my own discussion with the Snowbird prisoner. Her name is Senefa Malthus. She is formerly of Clan Jade Falcon."

Furey nodded. "Very well. Good idea, in fact. Any other questions?" Furey looked around the table. "We attack in four hours, at 1600 Hours. Everyone attacks at that moment." That was for Meaghan's benefit. "Aff. Let us go to it, and may fortune smile on the bold."

As the meeting broke up, Thom made his way towards Dougray. "Avenge Cray? You did not even like him."

Dougray grinned. "I loathed the freebirth bastard, Thom. No, Thom, I have other reasons."

"Such as the Bloodname slot promised to the one who kills Senefa Malthus? The Jade Falcons are the only ones who have made that offer, Dougray, not our Clan."

The grin only widened. "Unlike you, Thom, I have no intention of moldering away quietly. A Bloodname is a Bloodname, and it is no less tarnished if it belongs to another Clan." He turned his back on Thom and walked away.

* * *

Senefa Malthus lay atop her 'Mech. The sun was out, and it warmed the armor of her _Thunderbolt_ pleasantly, and the cool air coming off the ocean made it rather pleasant, she thought. She surveyed Toriyama from her perch, and was satisfied by what she saw. To the best of her knowledge, only one 'Mech had been knocked out the night before, Betsy Drakon's _Blackjack_, and while a number of other 'Mechs, especially from O'Reilly's lance, had taken damage, they were being fixed. From what she could see in Iwakuni, the Smoke Jaguars were also busy making repairs. She had informed Sheila of this and suggested launching an airstrike, but Sheila had refused, fearing that too many of Iwakuni's civilians would get killed, and for the very real fact that the only bombs available were small 500 kilogram bombs, which would easily splinter Iwakuni's mostly wooden houses but do only middling damage to a 'Mech. Senefa left it at that, though privately she still would have ordered the airstrike, if to do nothing more than deprive the Jaguars of sleep and to kill techs. Collateral damage was regrettable, but that was war; Senefa sometimes thought her friend had strange ideas about fighting. Still, she could sympathize with Sheila's desire to kill the Jaguars in the open.

There was room for only one 'Mech on the knoll, so Senefa was surprised to see Maysa Bari making her way up the path to where Senefa had concealed her _Thunderbolt._ If they needed her, surely they would radio; Senefa had her set turned up to full volume where she could hear any summons from her cockpit a meter or two below where she sat, next to the boxlike LRM-5 launcher. She turned and called down. "Maysa? What brings you up here?"

"I wanted to know if you had lunch yet!" Maysa yelled, holding up two containers.

"Thank you, but I am not hungry. I can wait until dinner." Senefa actually was hungry, but it had rapidly spread around Toriyama that food was going to run scarce with all the civilians to feed. She had decided she could skip meals; after all, her sibko was once forced to go without food for three days as a punishment for the accidental death of one of its members, and this was not nearly as bad.

"Well…okay." Maysa hesitated, then said, "Can I talk with you for a second, then?"

"Aff."

Maysa deftly tied the straps of the containers around her middle and climbed up the rope ladder to the top of the _Thunderbolt_. One slip from there could send either woman down the sloped armored slides of the 'Mech and then off a sheer drop of three hundred meters to the bottom of the cliff, but MechWarriors learned not to be acrophobic very early in training. "Okay if I eat in front of you?" Maysa asked, opening her ration box to reveal a rather succulent looking meal of chicken and eggrolls.

Senefa's stomach growled in response, and sighing, the Clanswoman opened her container, which had the same meal, wondering inwardly if she was getting soft. Maysa giggled. "It's all right, Senefa," Maysa told her. "Rainbow Levine doesn't know it yet, but we've ransacked her village for food. Found some, too. Elfa figures we can last a week now with only a little rationing, even with the civilians." Maysa abruptly turned somber. "Assuming we last a week, anyway."

"I doubt the siege will last that long," Senefa said. Seeing Maysa's alarmed expression, she added, "Not for that reason. The Jaguars are not known for patience. If they have not taken Toriyama in a week, they will either be recalled from Kagoshima or they will all be dead."

"You really think we can win?" Maysa asked quietly.

"Aff. We have excellent interior lines, and we can observe any movement they make. Attackers in this situation must have a two-to-one advantage in numbers over the defender to have much chance of winning, and our numbers are even. The Jaguars must close with us to take Toriyama, and so the normal Clan advantages of superior mobility and range are largely negated."

"Well, when you put it that way…"

Senefa put her fork down. "Something troubles you?"

Maysa nodded. She set her meal aside. "Senefa…I don't know if you're the person I should ask about this. I just don't know who else to turn to. Sheila's too busy, and Mom…Marion…I think she's angry at me for rushing off and getting married like I did. I'm scared to talk to her." Maysa gave her a ghost of a smile. "I figured that you're about as much of a disinterested third party as I'm going to find up here, and you're not one who's going to blab to everyone."

Senefa cocked her head to one side, curious. Surely Maysa was not pregnant. The mere thought of pregnancy turned Senefa's stomach, but that could not be it. It was too soon, and she sincerely doubted that Maysa and Daniel Polycutt had done anything before their hurried marriage.

"I'm scared," Maysa finally said, twisting her hands, unable to meet the Clanswoman's eyes. "I thought…maybe you could tell me how you do it."

"Do what?"

"Not be scared." She looked up. "Senefa, Sheila would tell me that we're all scared, but you're not. Out of everybody on this damn mountain, you're not scared." A pause. "Are you?"

"No, I am not."

Maysa laughed, but it was not her normal infectious laughter, but bitter. "Of course not, you're Clan."

"Perhaps." Senefa leaned back against the LRM launcher. "Actually, most Clanfolk are scared when they first go into battle. Even if it is just as sibkin—as trainees. But you are not that, Maysa. You have been in many battles, quiaff? Why are you frightened now?"

"I have something to live for." Maysa held up a hand. "No, let me rephrase that. I've never really realized until now that I had something to lose. It was just a game, you know? In my first fight on Planting, I just shot off limbs until the Clanner surrendered. I still do that. I got scared on New Caledonia, and I froze a little…" Maysa took a deep breath, and laughed again. "You know, you're the first person I've admitted that to? Anyway, I was able to fight okay here, but I'm just so scared now! Dan and I have had three hours, Senefa. It's not fair." She dabbed angrily at her eyes. "I just want to run away."

"You have nowhere to run to." Senefa tentatively reached out and put a hand on Maysa's shoulder. This was not something she was used to, but Maysa was under her command. And they were friends, in their own way. "And you would not run away, Maysa. I know you." Senefa withdrew her hand. "I wish I had words of wisdom, but I have none. Just be aware that you are desperately needed. If you run, who will replace you?"

"But you're not scared!" Maysa insisted. "How do you _do_ that?"

"I am not scared because there is nothing to fear. I simply accept that one day I will die. Because I am Clan, I hope it will be in battle. Each of us faces our own end in our own way. Whatever happens, we will face our moments of truth alone…" Senefa's voice trailed of as she glanced back towards Iwakuni. "Hmm. It seems the Jaguars are on the move."

Maysa swallowed nervously. Senefa was right: the Jaguars, knowing every movement was being watched, were not bothering to conceal themselves. They advanced from Iwakuni and began forming up in ranks for the assault.

"What will you choose?" Senefa said, still looking at the Jaguars.

"What? Oh…I'll…I'll stay, of course."

"Good. It would be rather inconvienent to have to replace you." She turned to Maysa, all business now. "Return to your 'Mech, Maysa."

"Yes, Lance Commander." Maysa grabbed her food, shimmied down the rope ladder, and scampered down the slope as fast as her feet could take her. As she reached her _Rifleman_, alarms were already going off across the base.

* * *

Sheila Arla-Vlata brought her _Shruiken_ to life, hands flying across her instrument panel. "All units from Snowbird Actual. Sitrep." She tried to keep her voice calm.

"Brownoak to Snowbird. Enemy 'Mechs forming up at base of ridge, strength…looks like one Trinary with Elemental support."

"Tigerstripe to Snowbird. I've got the same thing in front of me."

"Claw to Snowbird. Elementals moving onto the top of Hill 230; I'd say anywhere between 20 and 30."

"Blackthorn to Snowbird. I've got the same thing as Claw—Elementals moving around us to the south."

"Kinosh to Snowbird. Enemy 'Mechs forming up on Hikari Ridge, two Star strength."

"Usagi to Snowbird. My sector is clear, repeat, no enemy forces to my direct front or right flank."

Sheila looked at the tactical display on her monitor and let loose a few choice obscenities. She had figured that Furey would try something like this. Last night had been probably a probe. This was a full court press, an attack from every direction, testing her perimeter. If it was done right, she'd be pulled apart. She couldn't be strong everywhere, and Furey knew it. "All elements, hold position. Independent fire at will." That meant the defenders didn't need to wait until Sheila gave the order to fire. "Brownoak, I want you, Box, and Wolf to pull off the line and form a reserve around the water tanks."

"Still a holding action, huh?" Elfa wryly observed.

"That's right. I can't look everywhere at once, so I want you to plug the gaps. Keep an eye on that south face. We're awfully thin down there." Sheila wanted to send some 'Mechs in that direction, but because the southern wall was built on the edge of the cliffside, a 'Mech would have to lean precariously out to shoot at any Elementals coming up. In any case, the militia commander on that side had assured Sheila that morning that he had a special surprise for anyone who tried the south face. Pulling Elfa off the north face also left a gap there, but Marion's assault 'Mechs would be able to fill it. Pulling Peter Nicholas' Charlie Heavy off the west face meant that David Moore's tanks would be on their own. Sheila took a deep breath, fighting down panic, knowing that this was exactly what Furey was hoping would happen. _Fight the battle, Sheila,_ she told herself. _Don't worry about anything else. Just fight the battle. Get inside Furey's head. What's he doing? What would I do if I was him? _

She noticed that once more the Smoke Jaguars were taking their time coming up the hill, but this time they were spread out, almost like a mob rather than in line or column or any other sort of tactical formation. Neither side fired yet, waiting for the range to close. The Clan warriors were already in range, but this time they were holding their fire too. Sheila figured that they would advance slowly, then make one quick charge. Done right, they would carry themselves into the defenses before the Snowbirds could really inflict grevious damage. It had been the major mistake they had made the night before. Sheila smiled ironically, remembering her Nagelring instructors droning on about this sort of thing. She found herself detachedly analyzing Furey's attack like a historian, and wondered if someday cadets wouldn't be studying Toriyama. She also wondered if they would be studying Sheila Arla-Vlata's brilliant defense, or Furey's excellent attack.

"Claw, what's the Elementals doing over there?" she asked.

"Snowbird, Claw, right now they're taking their time. We're okay for now."

"Blackthorn?"

"All quiet on the southern front, Snowbird."

Kinosh broke into the conversation. "Snowbird, those two Stars aren't splitting up. They're going for Feral's corner again!"

_Shit, O'Reilly's lance._ That made sense. It had been the only spot where the Jaguars had come close to breaking through, and it was a weak point. It had only failed because there wasn't anything behind it, and Elfa had forced the Jaguars back through numbers and surprise. They wouldn't have that luxury today. _Dammit!_ "Brownoak from Snowbird! They're going for the southeast corner again—get your ass over there now!"

"On my way!" Elfa's ersatz lance began running across the airfield, and then two things happened very quickly.

"Here they come!" someone shouted over the open net, and Sheila saw the Jaguar Trinary begin charging up the hill.

"Snowbird, Usagi, enemy 'Mechs direct front!" Miroku Usagi exclaimed. Sheila whirled in that direction as she saw a Star of Jaguar 'Mechs materialize in front of the section of line the cadets commanded.

* * *

Dougray had prepared for this moment very carefully. Rather than lead his force from the front, as he normally did and was expected to do, he had put his _Mad Cat_ in the center. He had his techs paint out all markings but the Smoke Jaguar clan symbol, and reconfigured the OmniMech to carry a Gauss Rifle. It cut down on his armament and he only had eight rounds, but that did not bother him; he doubted he would get more than one chance in any case. He had not told his Trinary why he was doing this, nor did they ask. Nor did he worry about the fact that he was essentially using his Starmates as bait for Senefa Malthus, who he was absolutely sure was the sniper. He heard Furey give the order to charge, but instead of sending his unit headlong up the slope, he kept them at a steady gait. Furey might be disappointed and Thom infuriated, but that didn't matter to Dougray.

Senefa Malthus squeezed her 'Mech into the position and edged up slightly, wishing she had the higher cockpit of her old _Thor._ The cockpit of the _Thunderbolt_ was set down into the chest, which meant she had to expose a lot more of the 'Mech than she liked. She rested the Gauss Rifle on a small outcropping and scanned the advancing Smoke Jaguars. She noticed that tactical markings had been painted out and nodded; they were learning. Still, she looked for OmniMechs: if the 17th followed standard Clan doctrine, the Star Commanders usually had better 'Mechs than their charges. She spotted a _Vulture_ moving forward, and noticed it lacked the huge missile launchers that usually formed its shoulders, which meant it was a C variant, with Gauss Rifles. The 'Mech was weaving, but Senefa tracked and fired. A last minute adjustment on the Clan warrior's part caused the Gauss bullet to smash into the right side instead of the head. The _Vulture _twisted completely around and crashed to the slope.

Dougray saw the small flash of the Gauss Rifle as it fired. Star Commander Faye fired back, sending up a spray of limestone dust when it hit, but all that did was draw a return shot that nearly amputated Faye's right arm. Dougray stepped out from behind the _Highlander_ that had concealed him, raised his right arm, and aimed for a moment. He knew the _Thunderbolt's_ cockpit was a meter inwards from the side of the right torso. The Gauss Rifle cracked as it fired, and the shell crossed the space between the two combatants in less than two seconds.

Senefa saw the flash and instantly turned in that direction to a new threat. She never saw the Gauss shell. It hit the _Thunderbolt_ with such force that her feet slipped off the pedals and the plexiglass windscreen exploded into mist. Everything went black, and then there was nothing, nothing at all.

Dougray saw the _Thunderbolt_ spark where it was hit. To his surprise, the Inner Sphere 'Mech actually fired back, though the shell was far off the mark. Slowly, the _Thunderbolt_ staggered, then toppled, crushing karst in its path, to fall inert onto the cliffside below. It landed limply, indicating the MechWarrior was likely dead, but Dougray wanted to make sure. He moved his _Mad Cat _in that direction. Faye guessed at what Dougray was doing and continued moving her Star forward, but Star Commander Hou, newly promoted to take the place of the deceased Cray, hesitated, wondering if his commander had found a better route of attack. He turned and followed Dougray.

* * *

Now the battle was joined in earnest. Almost as if Dougray and Senefa's quick duel was a signal, both sides opened fire at the same time. Now the Jaguars charged, no one worrying about spacing or keeping lines straight. Since they were moving, their fire was inaccurate and tended to be short, tearing out huge divots of wall, but if the Snowbird fire was more accurate, the defenders were having less time to fire.

That was on the northern slope, but where the Sun Zhang cadets held the line, there was time for one volley before Thom was at the wall. Alone amongst the Smoke Jaguars, he had wandered around, scouting the land by foot. No one had disturbed him, and he found what he thought was the key to Toriyama. Where the mesa joined Hikari Ridge, there was a deep depression where the cliff line turned abruptly south, then north to become the left face of Hikari Ridge. It served as dead ground, where an advancing force would not be seen by any of the defenders until they reached the crest—it could neither be seen from Senefa's Point, nor could it be seen by the infantry on Gateway Rock, nor could it seen by the DropShips. The latter never had time to lay their guns before Thom's Star was too close to the cadets to fire.

Thom had five 'Mechs: his own _Nobori-nin_, an OmniMech; a heavy _Thug,_ a medium _Wyvern_, and two lights, a _Thorn_ and _Hussar._ He struck the line where Hohiro Noribetsu's San Lance was drawn up: his own _Trebuchet,_ James Mabin's _Thunderbolt,_ Taylor Cantwell's _Trebuchet,_ and Eileen Robson's _Wolverine._ Except for the latter, none were built for close-in fighting. Instinctively, Noribetsu concentrated his one and only volley on the _Wyvern_. The 45-ton 'Mech crumpled under three flights of LRMs and Robson's autocannon fire, but didn't go down. The Jaguars' return fire tore the right arm from Mabin's _Thunderbolt_ and sent Cantwell staggering back, armor over his chest boiled away by laserfire. Then the _Thug_ and Thom's _Nobori-nin_ were over the wall and inside the perimeter.

Noribetsu sent a trio of medium lasers at the _Thorn_, keeping it down, and winced as his right leg took heavy hits from the _Thug._ "San to Snowbird!" he yelled in the open channel, hoping it would get through. "Enemy 'Mechs have broken through in the northeast corner! I need heavy 'Mechs!"

Sheila did hear the call. Noribetsu was backed up by Akihiro Oshima's Ni Lance, but it was made up of light 'Mechs. Usagi's Ichi Lance was too busy firing back at the onrushing Smoke Jaguars on the northern slope; Elfa's reserve was already committed. She made a quick decision. "Mimi! Hold here—I'm going over to help Noribetsu!"

"Roger that!" Because Sheila needed to keep an overall view of the battle, Mimi was essentially directing the rest of the Command Lance, Matria and Kahvi.

Sheila turned and ran the _Shruiken_ full speed down the old runway. She saw Oshima's lights racing in to support Noribetsu. A _Jenner_ raced in, firing its medium lasers and SRM-4 at the _Nobori-nin_, flaking off armor and forcing the 'Mech to at least fall back a little. Then the _Thug_ opened fire, and the _Jenner_ was sent flying backward by PPC shots. The light 'Mech dropped onto its back, skidded, then disappeared in a shattering explosion. A _Thorn_ scampered past the assault 'Mech, saw Sheila, and aimed for her: the MechWarrior either mistook the _Shruiken_ for a much smaller _Wolfhound,_ or he was simply drunk with battle fury. LRM fire and lasers made pockmarks in her chest armor, but Sheila never bothered dodging. She leveled the double PPCs in her arm and sent two bolts directly through the little 'Mech's head. The _Thorn_ careened past and rolled to a stop; Sheila sidestepped it and moved in to engage the next target—which turned out to be the _Thug_ and the _Hussar_. The little 'Mech would be easier to kill, but it also wasn't nearly as much threat—it had only a single large laser and thin armor. The _Thug_ on the other hand was built exactly for this sort of battle. Sheila ignored the _Hussar_ and concentrated on the big assault 'Mech.

The _Thug_ unloaded on her with everything. She dodged left and right; both PPC bolts went over her, but the SRMs—Streaks, she noticed abruptly—tore into her left leg, leaving only a thin layer of armor over the interior. Her return fire was more accurate and savaged the _Thug's_ left side, but the 80-ton 'Mech could take that kind of pounding.

Sheila had forgotten about the _Hussar,_ and the little machine's MechWarrior reminded her that he was still there. He had circled around and fired a large laser shot into her back. It ripped through armor and smashed a medium laser. Sheila, taken by surprise, lost control of the _Shruiken_. It slipped forward and crashed to the ground. Though Sheila threw out the 'Mech's left arm in an attempt to absorb the blow, the _Shruiken_ landed hard and crushed the wolflike nose of the 'Mech. In her haste to get ready for combat, Sheila hadn't tightened her shoulder straps enough, and she went headfirst into the instrument panel. Her neurohelmet took the worst of it, but it knocked her woozy. The _Thug_ had a perfect target, but was distracted by LRM flights from Noribetsu's _Trebuchet_. The _Hussar_ had no such problems: the MechWarrior stopped, reared back, and depressed the barrel of his large laser directly at the _Shruiken's_ head.

Without warning, the _Hussar_'s paper-thin rear armor was torn to shreds by laserfire. The gyro was fused into a solid piece of metal and the little 'Mech collapsed in a heap, face up. Ariel Munroe kicked the _Hussar_ for good measure and marched into battle.

Munroe had been on light duty, the wounds sustained on New Caledonia still painful: her smashed right leg was in a preserving sleeve, she was groggy from painkillers, and though her collapsed right lung had been inflated and repaired, she was still exhausted if she moved around too much. She was, in short, in no condition to pilot the _Phoenix Hawk_ the Snowbirds had borrowed from the Sun Zhang Cadre, and Sheila had in fact told her that the only way she was going into battle was if Toriyama was facing imminent conquest. Hearing Noribetsu calling for help constituted imminent conquest for Munroe, who had been on radio watch in her 'Mech. She had donned her neurohelmet and cooling vest, brought her machine to life, ignored Nicia Caii's orders to remain where she was, and ran into battle. The 'Mech staggered a little like a drunk, reflecting its own MechWarrior's ill health, but Munroe was now back in the fight. Her blood was up, and as the _Thug_ turned to face her, Munroe shouted a Zulu war cry and charged. She lowered the _Phoenix Hawk's_ right shoulder and crashed into the much larger assault 'Mech; the Smoke Jaguar was taken by surprise and fell. Ignoring fire from the _Wyvern_ and Thom's _Nobori-nin_, Munroe reversed her pistol-like large laser and simply began beating the _Thug_ with it like a club. Oshima's lights began joining her in the melee. Thom, horrified by the sight of one of his Starmates being kicked, clubbed, and punched by four 'Mechs, and under fire himself by Noribetsu's wounded but still dangerous lance, pulled back and jumped back over the wall. Only he and the _Wyvern_ were left.

"Sheila! Sheila!" Max had seen her go down. "Are you all right?"

Feeling blood trickling down her chin where it had hit the instrument panel, and faced with a suddenly ringing headache, Sheila slowly leaned back in her seat. She blinked until she stopped seeing double and checked the instrument panel. Other than the damaged medium laser and a hole in her rear armor, everything else read operational. She spoke into the helmet mike. "I'm okay…just knocked the wind out of me…" She struggled the 'Mech to its feet and saw Munroe still beating on the wreckage that had once been the _Thug's_ cockpit. "Talisman Four! Ariel! Stop it, he's dead!" When the large laser—now itself destroyed—fell again, Sheila reached out and physically grabbed the _Phoenix Hawk._ "Ariel! Stop it!"

The 'Mech paused and sagged, and Munroe's voice came over the radio, puffing with exertion. "Sorry…sorry about that, Snowbird. I just…I just lost it."

_And thank God you did,_ Sheila thought, knowing Munroe had probably saved her life. "Are you good to go?"

"Yes, Snowbird." Now that the adrenalin and rage had worn off, Munroe felt like she would pass out, but there was still work to do.

"Hold here with Noribetsu, then." Sheila let go of the other 'Mech and headed west. The central part of the line was holding, but the western side of the north slope was in trouble, and there was no answer from Senefa. Worse, another radio report said that the Jaguars were inside the perimeter at the southeast corner.


	11. Hold the Line

_AUTHOR'S NOTES: Comparatively short chapter this time to finish out the second round of the Toriyama battle. It's getting nasty here!_

_The "dead German guy" Marion Rhialla refers to is Clausewitz, who wrote the famous strategy/tactics manual, _Vom Krieg (On War). _Her reference to bad manners is attributed to Napoleon, so Marion's done some reading in her time._

_This story arc is rapidly becoming the longest I've written, because we're still only halfway through. The next chapter will be a bit of a lull…writing 'Mech combat is hard! (When you're combing books on Guadalcanal for ideas, and finding that 'Mech combat resembles the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal more than the Battle of Edson's Ridge, you realize that either you've hit on a gold mine or you're getting desperate.)_

_I noticed that RogueBaron suggested to another reviewer that they study my stories for ideas on how to write mass battles. I appreciate the compliment, but another, better source would either be Stackpole's books or Bernard Cornwell's _Sharpe _series. I devoured his "Sharpe's Waterloo" last weekend and I'm working on "Sharpe's Battle" right now. _

_REVIEWER'S CORNER:_

_Kat: Thanks…I hope I continue to feel better too. I really appreciate what you said about my female characters. I've tried to make them as "real" as sci-fi heroines can be, neither panicking Victorian wilting violets nor butch womyn that don't know how to be feminine. They're warriors, yes, but they're also girls. It's too easy to write women (especially when you're not one) as guys with bewbs._

_Noveltigger: Still a bit of a cliffy with this one, but not quite as bad._

_Rogue: This _has _been a vicious battle, and it's not over yet. I won't give anything away about Senefa yet, but she won't be fighting Dougray anymore…ever. As for Bien and Felisanna, I'll do more with them next chapter, but suffice to say that Bien might be on the edge of his seat while reading this one. I have something particularly _interesting _for Felisanna…_

_Flashpoint: I think all writers secretly enjoy cliffhangers. I know I love reading a book where I have to restrain myself from flipping ahead to see if the hero/heroine survives. Thanks for the kind words, too._

_Panzerfaust: Well, if I cut you with your own knife (heh heh), you just cut me back, which you'll realize about halfway through this chapter. Hopefully you won't laugh too hard. As for Usagi, well, we'll just have to see about him._

_Mosin: Yep, things are starting to get a bit tight. Not to worry about Elfa's "Juniors" (plural; she's pregnant with twins); we won't be seeing them for a little while._

_MUSIC CORNER: "Hot Night" by Laura Branigan from the _Ghostbusters _soundtrack (though that would be better for the night battle), "The Devil's Trill" by Vanessa-Mae, and the overused but still kewl "Lux Aeterna" from the _Requiem for a Dream _soundtrack. _

* * *

_Toriyama_

_Kagoshima, Pesht District, Draconis Combine_

_31 December 3051_

Char Furey watched the battle unfold from the seat of his _Masakari_. He fired his PPCs occasionally, cycling them to keep the barrels cool, but did not advance. His Command Star was staying back, their job covering fire for the assault columns. He heard Thom's call for retreat from the northeast corner, but his only reaction was a sigh. There was hope that Thom could cross the ground before the DropShips could add their firepower to the perimeter, but evidently the perimeter would not yield. That was not surprising: that section he knew was held by the Kurita cadets, who would die hard before they gave up any ground. Once Thom was back in the dead ground, however, he would not be seen, and could renew the attack as soon as they had word of what was happening in the southeast corner. Everything else seemed to be going well. Both Meaghan and Shannon had radioed that they were in position and advancing to attack. The deadly Gauss Rifle fire from the promontory on Toriyama's northwest corner had ceased, so evidently Dougray had taken care of this Senefa Malthus or whoever it was.

Furey moved a few paces further forward, carefully placing each foot of his 'Mech; interrogating the locals had revealed that the defenders had dug 'Mech-sized pits in the slope and might have mines. That was an annoyance, nothing more. He was taking casualties, but so were his enemies. This attack would pull Arla-Vlata's defense apart, and he would take Toriyama.

Furey had already decided to be magnanimous to the defenders. Certainly some would be killed during the battle and immediately afterwards by vengeful Smoke Jaguars, but he would spare everyone who survived. He hoped Arla-Vlata would survive, especially. She had angered him the day before, but that had passed. Once he accepted her surrender, he would throw a formal dinner in the Snowbirds' honor for the surviving officers. Lesser MechWarriors he would imprison, but he entertained a thought of letting at least a few of the officers go free, especially the female ones. They would return to their lands and tell of how gallant an antagonist Char Furey was. Yes, they would handle the surrender in the old fashion, with great honor for the victorious side and no dishonor for the losers. Furey supposed that the Kuritans would probably commit suicide, if any survived, and that was all right too: he would make the proper arrangements for them, so that their passage into the next world would not be a difficult one.

Halting his _Masakari,_ still outside all but PPC and Gauss range, Furey allowed his mind to dwell on a secret desire he had been harboring for the last 24 hours. It had taken a great deal of self-control not to show this in front of his officers, but he harbored a sudden, deep, and overwhelming desire for Sheila Arla-Vlata. There was no question of letting her go; she was too valuable. She had been imprisoned before, and tortured, which was regrettable. He would make sure that did not happen again, at least. Yet facing off with her the day before during the parley, he had noticed how well she filled out her jumpsuit, and how beautiful her face was. Furey liked tall women, and Arla-Vlata was certainly that. Best of all, she was smart. Furey considered himself a little smarter than his Cluster, and they tended to reinforce that impression. Arla-Vlata was everything he wanted and more. Once formalities were over, he would shield her from the rest of the Smoke Jaguars. He had connections with the Khan, so he was sure he could do so. Then, after a suitable amount of time, he was sure that seducing the young former commander of the Snowbirds would not be any trouble. No woman had been able to resist his advances so far, not even the Kuritan women on Juaziero or Richmond, and they utterly despised him. Yes, the victory would be sweet, but the conquest of his opponent romantically would be even sweeter.

He looked over at his right flank to see how Dougray's advance was going, and was startled out of his dream to see Hou turning to follow Dougray—who was going in the wrong direction, heading towards the northwest corner rather than directly at the north wall.

He keyed the radio to tell Dougray to get back on the proper advance axis when a transmission interrupted him: "Alpha Three Actual to Command. Have reached southeast corner. No significant resistance. Am advancing."

* * *

Marion Rhialla kept up a steady fire on the advancing Smoke Jaguars, ignoring the return fire, trusting to her 100-ton monster to absorb the damage. She had expected the Clans to shift right as they had the night before, concentrating all their forces to meet at a single point. Dimly, Marion remembered reading somewhere that some long-dead German had called that the _schwerpunkt_, the decisive point. She wasn't sure about that, but she knew that if you piled 15 'Mechs into a small area defended by half that, one would smash through. That was just common sense. Instead, the Jaguars were curving west, to her left, towards Senefa's position. She regarded that detachedly as plain stupid, because the Jaguars would run right into the best MechWarrior in the battalion—though Marion wouldn't admit that Senefa was the best under torture—and allow themselves to be raked by the heaviest lance in the battalion, her own. Still, she wasn't about to interrupt her opponent when they were making a mistake; it was bad manners.

Then she realized that the fire from her left side had slackened considerably. "Falcon Six from Tiger Six. Sitrep." There was no answer, even as she repeated the query twice. Deciding that Senefa's radio was out or the Clanswoman was dead, she went down the chain of command. "Wolf Six from Tiger Six. Sitrep, northwest sector."

"I'm not there," Peter Nicholas replied. "Snowbird has me over here, to your right!"

Marion looked and saw Nicholas' distinctive _Marauder_ on her right flank. "Then who's covering the northwest sector?"

"Don't know; I left Wolf Four over there." Nicholas broke off the conversation. Faye's Star was making life considerably hot for his section of wall, already weakened by Elfa's redeployment to the southeast corner.

"Fuck," Marion breathed. If Senefa was down, that left Maysa. "Falcon Two, Tiger Six. Sitrep."

* * *

Maysa Bari heard the radio call, but it seemed far away. Unlike Marion, who was on lower ground, she could see where Senefa's _Thunderbolt_ had landed. It looked mostly intact, but it wasn't moving, meaning Senefa was either unconscious or dead. The smoking hole near the cockpit pointed towards the latter.

Fear had seized her. If the untouchable, unflappable Senefa could be killed, then so could she, Maysa Bari, age seventeen, newly married. So could Dan Polycutt, below her, his _Dervish_ hidden behind clouds of smoke as he salvoed LRMs at the oncoming Jaguars. The wall was being torn to pieces by the Jaguars, who were firing low, trying to eliminate that barrier before overrunning her precious few 'Mechs: herself, Dan, Michelangelo Burke's _Panther_, and Troms Fiordur's _Warhammer_, left behind by Nicholas when he had redeployed to Elfa's old position. She knew she was next in line for command if Senefa was down, and that she should be shooting, but she was frozen, her _Rifleman's_ arms pointed towards the ground. She didn't know that was the reason she had not been targeted yet, though she was far more exposed halfway up the promontory than the rest of her lance; Dougray and the other Jaguars had assumed the 'Mech had been knocked out. Marion was by now screaming at her to respond, but Maysa couldn't move her fingers to the radio button on her left control stick. All she could do was watch the Jaguars come closer, knowing that they were going to kill her before she had ever truly lived.

Star Commander Hou charged his _Guillotine_ forward, determined to be the first at the wall and redeem his Star's honor for losing their commander the night before. There was a little dead space before the wall at this sector too, and Burke triggered his jumpjets, rising up to get off a solid hit with his PPC. Hou absorbed the hit and raised both arms, unleashing a torrent of laserfire and adding missiles for good measure. The _Panther_ seemed transfixed by the hits and fell backward to land hard behind the wall, one leg spinning away to parts unknown. The light 'Mech lay still for a moment, and Maysa saw the cockpit hatch open, Burke scrambling out. He had just cleared the hatchway when the _Panther_ suddenly exploded, as fire reached the SRM magazine. The tiny figure of the MechWarrior disappeared in the fireball. Maysa heard Troms screaming that Burke was down and that the Jaguars had reached the wall, and she saw the shape of the _Guillotine_ top the parapet. The searchlight that normally topped the old 'Mech design had been blown off, and since the _Guillotine_'s cockpit was buried in the chest like the _Thunderbolt,_ it gave the 'Mech a sinister, headless appearance. It turned towards Dan's _Dervish_, raising the large laser barrel that formed its left arm.

Her hands moved before conscious thought registered. The _Rifleman's_ four weapon arms raised, centered on the _Guillotine's_ center torso, and opened fire. Four ruby beams all landed on the same point with lethal accuracy. Armor flared and melted, exposing the inner workings of the 'Mech, then the _Guillotine_ suddenly tumbled forward and collapsed as the gyro was destroyed. It still weakly stirred until Fiodur finished it off.

Maysa realized just how close Dan had been to death, and Burke was already dead—one of _her_ MechWarriors, dead because she hadn't reacted fast enough. This was _her_ lance, and the Jaguars, who had paused at the violence at Hou's sudden demise, were not just coming to kill her, but everyone. And that filled Maysa with a rage she had never felt before. She keyed the radio, told her mother, "Can't talk, gotta shoot," and began doing so. Her rage was not a blind bloodlust like Ariel Munroe's had been, but a methodical, clinical one. Maysa's normal gentleness, her normal disdain for hurting anyone on purpose disappeared beneath a cold desire to see every one of the Jaguars dead. Her brain, normally almost poetic in thought, became a targeting computer: Crab _moving forward at 240 meters. Firing._ _Hit. Left arm blown off, one hit in left torso. Down; no threat. Shift target to _Lancelot, _stationary at 270 meters. Firing. Hit. Left arm destroyed, left torso penetrated, engine hit. Retreating; no threat. _Mad Cat, _moving to the right at 150 meters. Damage to target on right leg. Firing. Miss with three shots; hit on left arm, no damage._ She slapped the override switch, not even feeling the heat that was threatening to shut her 'Mech down. _Adjust; target now at 180 meters. Firing. Hit. Left torso penetrated, no internal damage. Shift target to _Black Knight, _330 meters, advancing._

Maysa gave no orders to her lance, but she didn't need to. As her shots hit, the lance would shift to those crippled targets, either destroying them or driving them back even further. Dan fired the last of his LRMs, keeping one eye on his wife. The _Rifleman_ was not moving anything but its upper torso and its arms, which swiveled and fired more like some sort of automatic turret than a human-driven 'Mech. Its heat sinks glowed with waste heat and the four large laser barrels were doing the same. Armor had been flecked off by hits, but Maysa ignored them.

* * *

Dougray cursed loudly, beating on his instrument panel in frustration. The _Thunderbolt_ and its pilot were dead, but it was the _Rifleman_ who was systematically destroying him. Hou's understrength Star had vanished, the sole survivor, a _Lancelot_, falling back as fast as possible. His Star was mostly intact, despite internal damage on himself and another of the ubiquitous _Guillotines._ "5th Star, advance! Advance! Kill them!"

Star Commander Faye had enough. She was already down a 'Mech, and missing a left arm on her own _Vulture._ She was getting hit by two lances, and her two most potent 'Mechs, a _Black Knight_ and a monstrous _King Crab_, were getting pounded by Gauss fire long before they could bring their most powerful weapons to bear. Advancing here was suicide. "Fall back!" she shouted. "Fall back to the rally point!"

Her orders were only to her own Star, but Dougray's Star decided those orders must be for them as well. The Jaguars began falling back from the north face, despite Dougray and Furey's best efforts.

* * *

Star Commander Zellos ordered his own and Rally's Star to advance at a run. Even through the armored cockpit of his _Ryoken_, he could hear the thunderous noise from the northern face of Toriyama. From reports, the defenders were hard-pressed. Now was the time to finish them off. The wall was in sight, in shambles from the battle the night before, but it had been partially repaired with large slabs of concrete, which he assumed came from the blockhouses that had once formed the main gate of Toriyama's airfield.

The two Stars ran towards the wall in two assault columns. No return fire came from the wall, and Zellos wondered for a moment if the Snowbirds had somehow forgotten about it. His question was answered a moment later when explosions began going off amongst them. "Keep moving!" Zellos ordered. "It's just mortars!"

"Stand up!" Megan O'Reilly shouted, and her three 'Mechs—her own and Felisanna's _Wolfhounds_ and Robert Drakon's _Blackjack_—scrambled up from where they had been prone underneath the wall. They opened fire, lasers reaching out and hitting the packed masses of the assault columns.

Zellos had anticipated that. "Deploy! Attack Plan Alpha!" he ordered, and suddenly the columns opened their formation. Zellos had switched the _Bombardier_ attached to his Star to Rally's, accepting her _Champion_ in return, giving him a very mobile striking force. Rally's Star was now better suited for long-range slugging, and she halted her Star while he ran forward at top speed. LRMs boiled from Rally's Star and blasted the wall, providing cover.

O'Reilly saw what was happening and knew to stay on the wall was to die. "Ferals, fall back to the rally point!" she yelled; the rally point was the southern spur of Gateway Rock, 180 meters behind them. She sent out a quick radio call on the general frequency. "Feral Six in the clear—enemy 'Mechs inside perimeter, southwest corner!" Then she turned and ran, Felisanna just behind; Drakon jumped backwards. The wall collapsed under five Clan 'Mechs a second later, firing as they came across. Zellos' targeting crosshairs fell on the back of Felisanna's sprinting _Wolfhound_ and opened fire. She dodged at the last moment, but medium lasers ripped into her rear armor and a large laser grazed her 'Mech's head. Rocked by the near miss, Felisanna's feet slipped off the pedals and the _Wolfhound_ tripped. She tried to throw her 'Mech to one side to take the worst of the impact on her left shoulder, but instead the hard earth of Toriyama caused her to tumble, nearly cartwheeling the _Wolfhound._ Her helmet smacked either side of the cockpit walls like a pinball, saving Felisanna's life but also dazing her.

"Felisanna's hit!" Drakon exclaimed, and adjusted his landing so that he stopped in front of her; O'Reilly pirouetted like a dancer and came back to grab the other _Wolfhound_. Drakon's large lasers barked fire at the Clans, but all that did was call attention to him. Zellos had ordered his warriors not to engage in single battle, but to attack in the Inner Sphere style; honor had to take second place to taking Toriyama as soon as possible. Autocannon shells smashed through armor on the _Blackjack_ to tear away engine shielding, while laserfire wrecked half of Drakon's secondary laser array and smashed the knee on the right leg. The _Blackjack_ fell, and was continually blasted by Rally's Star, who had advanced. Rally remembered that one of the _Blackjacks_ had nearly killed MechWarrior Dallas in his _Flashman_ the night before, and was determined to make sure this one didn't get a second chance. His 'Mech burning and crippled, Drakon fired one last defiant shot as he drew the _Blackjack_ to a sitting position, then ejected.

O'Reilly had managed to drag Felisanna back a few meters, her armor rent and torn, one medium laser gone from the pounding she was taking. As Zellos bracketed the light 'Mech, his own rocked with hits, and he shifted targets: there was a _Dragonfly_ and another _Ryoken_ coming in to cover the two _Wolfhounds._ "3rd Star, kill those two OmniMechs to your front!"

The order confused Zellos' MechWarriors, since his own _Ryoken_ was out front, and in the dust and smoke from the battle, they could not be sure which _Ryoken_ was which. The _Dragonfly_, on the other hand, they knew could not be from their own Cluster, which had none, and fire was concentrated on that. The two _Champions_ damaged it even as Larry Stohr tried to dodge their autocannon fire. He let fly with everything he had, forcing them back, but spotted something move behind him. He twisted to face the _Exterminator_, but it was too late as the swift 65-tonner opened fire with its array of lasers. They easily cored through the lightly armored rear right torso armor to detonate the LRM magazine, sending the _Dragonfly_ skittering to one side before it fell hard, the right arm tearing free. Rally landed on her jumpjets just behind Zellos, raised her Gauss Rifle, and blew off the _Dragonfly's_ left arm as Stohr raised it to shoot at his tormentor. Another explosion rocked the Omni, and it dropped unmoving to the ground. Michael Vragel's _Ryoken_ was hit by Rally's LRMs, but the armor held. "Elfa! We're in deep shit up here!" he shouted, because while he could see Elfa, her _Loki_ wasn't firing.

He didn't know it was because Elfa's targeting computer had picked that moment to fail. The _Loki_ had been patched up and rewired by Nicia Caii with Inner Sphere materials. The battle computer had taken one patch too many, and Elfa's full-speed acceleration to get to the southwest corner had jarred something loose. The familiar gold crosshair on her HUD was no longer there; she had to fire by eye only, which was nearly impossible with a constantly shifting gun platform and dodging. She fired two experimental PPC shots and they went wild. Elfa swore at the top of her lungs and cycled through her weapons, shooting into the tightly packed mass of the two Jaguar Stars, hitting but only doing superficial damage. Like Drakon, her firing only drew the Clans to concentrate on her, but unlike Drakon, Elfa was far more experienced. She sidestepped shells and Gauss bullets, twisted away from a _Hermes_ that would have gotten behind her and sent it reeling back with a lucky PPC hit. She was peppered with LRM fire, but Nicia had reinforced the normally thin armor on the _Loki, _sacrificing weapon space for protection. Elfa was drawing fire, but she wasn't hitting back, and now O'Reilly was down. Only she and Vragel were left, two 'Mechs against ten. Seeing an _Atlas_ loom out of the smoke, she fired all she had at that, causing alarms to shrill throughout the cockpit predicting an imminent shutdown or detonation of her SRM magazine, where the temperature was reaching the danger point. Her shots hit despite the malfunctioning computer; an _Atlas_ was a hard target to miss. She might as well have thrown a pie at a train. The gigantic 'Mech took the shots without even flinching. It ponderously turned in her direction and missed with an autocannon shell that would've blown her in half, but racked her _Loki_ with LRMs. She nearly fell as the _Loki_ hit something solid, and she realized the Jaguars had been herding her, consciously or unconsciously, towards the southern wall—and now the _Exterminator_ that had wrecked Stohr's _Dragonfly_ was in front of her. She brought up her PPCs, determined that if she was going to die, she was going to take this son of a bitch with her.

The _Exterminator_ suddenly lurched forward, its medium lasers cutting furrows in the ground, then collapsed forward, exposing the ruin of its back. Behind it was Tooriu Kku's _Awesome._ It waved comically at Elfa, then turned on the _Atlas_. The Clan assault 'Mech fired and hit, tearing huge holes in the _Awesome's_ armor. "Is that all you've got?" Tooriu laughed over the open channel, reared back, and fired all three PPCs. Elfa hobbled over to her boyfriend's side and added her own twin blue bolts to his three. The _Atlas_ staggered under the impact, the jutting barrel of its AC/20 and one hip actuator ruined by the fire. "That got his attention!" Tooriu crowed. "Okay, Boxes! Let 'em have it!"

The Jaguars had advanced to the rally point, but now were hit with even more fire. Tooriu, who had deployed his Charlie Fire without orders, had lined up his remaining three 'Mechs—John Lawson's _Spartan _and Fabian Cynmar's and Jinjiro Gramakov's _Catapults_—along the line of the runway. The _Spartan_ and Cynmar's _Catapult_ fired their Arrow IV artillery missiles ballistically into the Jaguar lines. Zellos barely dodged one of the huge missiles and saw it knock one of his _Champions_ off its feet. At the same time, he saw the _Atlas_ pitch onto its side under another five-PPC fusillade. His one scout 'Mech, a _Hermes_, ran towards the _Spartan_ and suddenly turned and ran as the ground erupted beneath it: it had moved beyond Gateway Rock and squarely into the sights of the gunners on the DropShip _Cambrai._ Sparks kicked up on his right arm, and he spotted infantry firing rifles and throwing grenades at him from Gateway Rock itself. The southeast corner was rapidly becoming a giant fiery kettle. He needed help, and there were no reinforcements to be had from behind. "Elemental Shannon! Where the hell are you?" he snapped out, because if Shannon's 25 Elementals could get into the fight, he might still have a chance.

* * *

Shannon heard the call for help, but didn't acknowledge, because at the moment, she was hanging by the three-fingered claw that formed her Elemental battlesuit's right hand. Below her was a sheer drop of three hundred meters to the narrow rocky beach below, already foamed by the incoming tide. One of her Elementals was already somewhere beneath the water, having slipped, fallen, and landed headfirst on a jutting rock. She found a foothold, fired her jumpjets, got herself to a ledge where another of her troops squatted, and let loose a flood of obscenity that she had learned from Inner Sphere prisoners.

She wanted to blame Char Furey, but the truth was it was as much her fault as anyone else's. The map had shown a difficult climb up the southern face, but one she thought quite possible, made even easier by the fact that the defenders of Toriyama could not expect an attack there. Once at the base of the southern slope, however, she had realized three things: one, that it was nearly a sheer face; two, that the rock here—granite, not limestone—was made incredibly slippery by water spray; and that three, the defenders _had_ anticipated someone might attack. Unmolested, her Elementals would have enough trouble climbing the cliff, since the battlesuit really wasn't made for it, but facing sniper fire from a few light 'Mechs further down the mesa and occasional grenades flung over the crest by rifle-armed infantry had slowed her advance to a literal crawl. They had fired reels of myomer ropes into the cliffside, which held the suits as long as some enterprising Inner Sphere MechWarrior didn't cut them with a lucky shot—and one MechWarrior in particular, a _Wasp_ pilot, was proving extraordinarily lucky. The Elementals could trigger their jumpjets and spare themselves a bone-crushing impact with the beach, but it forced them to start over.

Now, however, Shannon could see that her platoon had made it to a point where the 'Mechs couldn't see them, and unless the infantry were exceptionally suicidal, none would dare stick their heads out to try a futile rifle shot from the crest, which lay only thirty meters above them. "Charlie One Alpha from Elemental Two Alpha. In position. Will attack presently."

"Hurry up, dammit!" Zellos' voice almost deafened her. "I am facing direct artillery fire up here!"

Shannon stared at her radio inside the suit, confused for a moment. From the explosions above her and the constant rain of pebbles, she could tell something big was exploding, but since when did the Spheroids have artillery? Still, in a way that was good news; artillery crews would be very vulnerable to Elementals. She turned her faceplate up to the sky as two of her Elementals gathered up the myomer ropes, attached them to reels, and fired them over the crest. One more jump and they would be over; the ropes were for anyone who misjudged the leap.

Something black hit her faceplate, leaving an inky smudge. She reached up with her claw and brushed at it, only to see more black smudges appear, growing from a patter to an absolute deluge. "What in the hell…" she breathed, and turned away before her view was completely obscured. She could see that it was pouring everywhere along the cliff. Black rain, mixed with regular rain, despite the fact that it was clear blue sky above. Then Shannon realized what it was. "_Freebirth!"_ she yelled, then began waving at her Elementals. "Get off the cliff! Jump! Jump!"

Tessya Blackthorn, her _Wasp's_ legs held securely by Tam Seneca's _Archer_, leaned far out over open air, though she tried not to think what would happen should Seneca slip and let go. Seeing the infantry running back to the wall from where they had left the rapidly emptying barrels, she fired a medium laser shot into them.

Flames instantly leapt up, then spread down the cliffside, in some places exploding into life, in others slowly. The mixture of fuel oil, gasoline, and kerosene—every drop that could be scrounged from Toriyama's storage areas—turned the southern face of the mesa into an inferno. 'Mechs would be hard-pressed to advance through such a conflagaration; Elementals were horribly vulnerable to it, for they did not have the heat sinks a 'Mech did to diffuse such raw heat, nor did they have the thick armor of a 'Mech to survive the first layer melting. As Tessya watched, Elementals tumbled off the slope in man-shaped balls of flame. Some escaped the inferno by jumping; others, on fire, saved themselves by leaping into the ocean, trusting their battlesuits to survive the fall. Some were trapped in alcoves and holes where they had sheltered from Tessya's lance shooting at them and couldn't run, while others jumped and landed hard amongst the rocks below. Ordering Seneca to pull her back, Tessya watched as the rest of her lance mercilessly opened fire on the wounded Elementals below.

Hearing nothing more from Shannon—who at the moment was trying not to drown in the frothing seas of Toriyama Bay, her suit's breathing filters melted and fused by burning oil—Zellos ordered his Stars back. All of his 'Mechs were hit, some were crippled, and there was no way they could advance any further. The Smoke Jaguars had lost this round. As he got back behind the wall, narrowly avoiding two PPC bolts from the defiant _Awesome_ that would have decapitated him, he wondered if the Jaguars would ever take Toriyama.


	12. Blood on the Walls

_AUTHOR'S NOTES: Another relatively short chapter this time. We're over midway through this story arc now; gotta wrap this thing up. It's rapidly becoming not only the longest story arc, but practically a novel in and of itself! That's a problem, because I'm also trying to finish a real one…anyhow, hopefully this chapter will shock and amaze a bit. It's not a very pretty chapter, but war isn't very pretty either._

_I wish I could update faster, but with work and everything else going on, it's slow. I've also gotten addicted to_ _NCIS lately, and the muse has been whispering in my ear, telling me to write NCIS fanfiction. Which I may do, just to take the occasional break from the Snowbirds—but not at the cost of finishing this story. That takes precendence. (And if I do, it'll be a one-shot story…I've gotten to love the NCIS cast, but my heart still belongs to my Battletech stories and the occasional Inu-Yasha fics too. Oh, and Evangelion. And then there's this Warrior Nun Areala story I've got half-completed on my hard drive.) _

_My muse is a little weird sometimes. Geez. Felisanna's going to end up looking like Abby before long._

_REVIEWER'S CORNER:_

_Rogue: You'll find out about Senefa one way or the other in this chapter. Thanks for the credit, though I hate writing 'Mech fights. I always feel they don't sound as good as Stackpole's. And Char hasn't lost yet…_

_Panzerfaust: Yeah, I have to admit that writing Maysa suddenly becoming a T-800 was my favorite part of the last chapter. She's grown up, but probably not in the way Marion would like. And if you're going to dream, dream big! (That and this chapter should put that bishonen stuff to rest.) I love Harold Coyle's early stuff—I read _Team Yankee _before I started on this chapter—though I personally think he lost something after _The Ten Thousand. Red Army _was damn good, and I regularly read Ralph Peters' column in _Armchair General. _My favorite author of all time, besides the late great George MacDonald Fraser, is Bernard Cornwell. A lot of Sharpe probably shows up in my stories._

_Moisin: Yep, Senefa's not enjoying herself right now, that's for certain._

_MUSIC CORNER: The theme to _Harry's Game _by Clannad, "Sentimental" by Kenny G (okay, maybe it's cheesy, but it's good for the part with Sheila and Max), and the theme to _A Fistful of Dollars _by Ennio Morricone. Hmm. I wonder if I would get in trouble by posting a whole "Snowbirds iPod list" someday._

* * *

_SDS _Minerva, _Toriyama_

_Kagoshima, Pesht Military District, Draconis Combine_

_1 January 3052_

Rainbow Levine finished administering the bandage to the militiaman and smiled, though she didn't feel cheerful at all. "There you are," she said in Japanese. "Just a light wound. Can you return to your unit?"

The militiaman nodded vigorously. He had already seen the _Minerva's_ infirmary, and felt embarrassed to even be in the DropShip. The shrapnel he had taken from a near miss from an LRM had barely broken the skin, but his company commander had ordered it looked at nonetheless. "Yes, ma'am."

"Good. Get along then." Levine's smile faded as soon as the militiaman limped out. She wished all of her patients were so easy. She wished she had never volunteered to help at all. To this point in her life, most of her medical training had been used to treat minor problems around her village—bruises, contusions, once or twice a broken bone, and the everyday diseases that people caught. She could count on the fingers of one hand genuine emergencies, and all she had really had to do there was stabilize the patient and keep them safe until the hoverambulance arrived from Iwakuni or a helicopter from Kagoshima City landed. Her happiest "duty" had been that of a midwife; most of the women in her village believed in natural childbirth, and she was pleased to help. The closest she had come to performing actual surgery was assisting an Iwakuni EMT in performing an emergency ceasarean.

Now, however, Levine figured she probably had more experience than that EMT in the past six hours than he had in a lifetime. Her sterile greens were covered in blood, she had gone through eight pairs of latex gloves, and she smelled like a butcher. Levine could only guess what she probably looked like, because she was exhausted.

Doctor Honma, she could say with reasonable certainty, looked worse. His doctor's apron was so stiff with blood that it could probably stand on its own. "Nurse Levine, would you mind bringing up the list of patients? It's quiet for the moment, and I need to know where we stand."

Levine wanted to tell Honma to go to hell, she was going to bed, but instead she gave him a tired nod and walked over to a computer terminal. Honma was a good man, and she had been impressed watching him work. He could diagnose wounds with a glance, treat the patient, and never seem to tire or even lose his sense of humor. As he sutured cuts or even removed limbs, he would be humming to himself. Levine didn't recognize the tune and she suspected that Honma was making it up as he went along, but it comforted the patients and his exhausted staff.

Ignoring her own body's screams for rest, Levine hesitantly tapped in commands and downloaded the information to a datapad. She scanned the names. Betsy Drakon—serious condition, but prognosis good. Her brother, Robert Drakon—good condition; probably could be released. Michelangelo Burke—good condition; probably just an overnight or a day or two, amazingly enough, considering that she had heard he had been literally blown out of his 'Mech. Ariel Munroe—good condition, but with a suppurating wound she had torn open; probably overnight. Larry Stohr—dead. Sadachi Konno—critical condition, not expected to survive; he had lost more blood than the _Minerva_'s stores could replace, even with steady transfusions from volunteers. Taylor Cantwell, dead. Six more names, all Japanese, from the militia, also dead. Levine blinked as she read the name of an old man who lived in her village—dead, of a heart attack.

Also on the list were five Smoke Jaguars: three MechWarriors and two Elementals. Of those, one MechWarrior was more stunned than anything else, and would join the two pilots the Snowbirds currently had ensconced somewhere on the base. Another was hurt, but would recover; the third would not last the night. Both Elementals were dead from burns and trauma. One had died almost the moment she hit the operating table, the other had begged Honma to shoot him. Honma had instead given the man a fatal overdose of morphine. Levine supposed she should be shocked or upset about that, but she simply couldn't muster the energy. She had noticed real hate on the faces of the other nurses, who were drawn from the militia, but they had worked as hard as she had to save the lives of the two wounded Jaguar MechWarriors. Looking down at them while they were being operated on, all Levine saw were young people frightened of death as much as their Inner Sphere counterparts, and wondered how Arla-Vlata and the others could find that dark part of themselves that allowed them to kill so quickly and easily. It made no sense to her.

Levine found her vision swimming, and knew she had to at least get some rest. She was more of a danger to her patients than a help. She gave the datapad to Honma, then sat down in a fold down seat against the hull of the DropShip. Levine leaned her head back and closed her eyes, but sleep did not come, to her surprise. Instead, her brain relived some of the last few hours. Detachedly, she found certain patients' reactions to be interesting. One militiawoman had come in with a piece of shrapnel lodged in her foot, and had been screaming at the top of her lungs of the pain. Konno, the Sun Zhang MechWarrior, had come in missing a leg, covered in blood from a severed artery, barely conscious but having taken no painkillers—and yet was as calm and collected as if seeing the doctor for a cold. The older Burke, his hair singed and artificial arm mangled, had laughed as Honma removed a finger that was hanging by a piece of muscle, joking "Will I play the violin again, doc? Because I never could before."

"Excuse me," a voice asked, "can you tell me where to find Doctor Honma?"

Levine opened her eyes, and to her surprise, saw it was Sheila Arla-Vlata. Her appearance was a little worse for wear as well, dark circles under her eyes betraying a lack of sleep, her drab jumpsuit dirty and spattered with dried blood. "He's in there," Levine replied, thumbing towards the operating theater. "But you can't go in. You're dirty."

"Oh, yeah. Well, maybe I could borrow some scrubs then…" Sheila's voice trailed off as she recognized the nurse. "Rainbow Levine? Is that you?"

"In the very tired flesh. Why? Are you surprised?" Levine's smile was sardonic. "Thought I'd leave people to die?"

"Actually, yes," Sheila shot back. "I figured you liked seeing warmongers die."

Levine felt the desire to jump to her feet and punch Sheila out, but she was too tired to do more than slowly get up. "I don't like to see anyone die, Commander. Not even you." She saw the play of emotions on Sheila's face, and wondered if her own were visible. Something had changed, and Levine was not so foolish as to pretend it hadn't.

She also noticed there was a bandage on Sheila's cheek, that it had been put on ineptly, and that blood had soaked through it. "Are you hurt? Is that why you need to see him?"

Sheila looked mystified for a moment, then shook her head, pointing to the wound. "What, this? I've cut myself worse shaving my legs. No, I'm looking for my friend. Senefa Malthus." Levine realized she must have looked completely lost, because Sheila gave her a brief description. It _did_ take her a moment to remember that name, and to also realize that she had completely overlooked that name. She also noticed that Sheila had turned remarkably pale, and not from blood loss.

"Malthus…oh, yes." Levine went back to the computer terminal. "Serious condition, but expected to live."

"And lucky to be alive at all." They turned as Honma walked out of the operating room. "I understand she took a cockpit hit from a Gauss shell?"

"No, it missed." _Barely,_ Sheila added to herself. When she had arrived at Maysa's position and seen the sprawled _Thunderbolt,_ icy fear seemed to seize her completely. The medics, however, didn't find the expected ruined body—assuming there would be anything left at all. Senefa's life had been saved by Nicia's modifications: instead of ripping through the cockpit, the shell had struck the ammunition trunk for the LRM-5, rerouted by Nicia to feed directly from the left torso rather than the center as on most _Thunderbolts, _since the LRM-5's ammunition bin was smaller than the normal LRM-15. This had slowed down the shell enough that the cockpit armor had absorbed the rest. It still had enough kinetic energy left to cause the armor to blister into the cockpit itself, smashing instrumentation, shattering the windscreen, and slamming Senefa brutally against the opposite side of the cockpit. She had been as limp as a rag doll when they had carried her out, and Sheila had not been able to remain long to find out what her friend's injuries were, or even if she was still alive.

Now Honma told her. "Lance Commander Malthus' worst injury is her right leg. It's broken in three places, one of them a compound fracture. She also has a concussion, though no trauma of the skull itself. There was some internal bleeding, but it was minor and mainly from shock damage. It would have been much worse except for Malthus' remarkably good health."

"Can I see her?"

"No. I won't lie to you, Commander. Her concussion was serious. She hasn't woken up yet. There could be bleeding in the brain…I don't have the equipment here to find out. I don't _think_ that there's a problem, but if she doesn't wake up in the next twelve hours, there could be." Honma leaned against the bulkhead. "She certainly won't be in any condition to pilot a 'Mech for at least a month or two. That leg was pretty horrible. Still, considering where her 'Mech was hit, I'm just happy to report she's alive."

"What about my other MechWarriors?"

"It could be worse." Honma handed over the datapad.

Sheila scanned it. "Burke's _alive?_" she murmured in amazement. "Wow. Maysa will be happy…the Drakons are okay, that's good…Ariel busted her stitches, huh? Doesn't surprise me…Stohr..." She stopped, and sighed heavily. "Shit."

"He was dead before he got here," Honma said. "Massive head trauma. It was likely quick."

"I still have to write a letter." Sheila sat down slowly. "Stohr was married. Dammit." She glanced at the datapad again. "Cantwell, Konno, Vincent, Arashi, Ikari, Urashima, Ibuki, Katsuragi…don't know them."

"They died for you," Levine snapped despite herself. "You should know them."

"They died for Kagoshima, and you, Miss Levine," Sheila snarled back. "Not me. And I promise you that I _will_ get to know them. I'll be writing their letters too."

"It's all butchery," Levine said. "Nothing more than butchery."

"It certainly will be if the Jaguars take Toriyama."

Honma put his hands up. "Ladies, stop it. You're both tired. We're all tired. Let's just do our duty and live with it later. Miss Levine, go to bed. Commander Arla-Vlata, if possible, you should do the same." He pointed at the bandage. "Let me change that first."

"I'll do it," Levine said, shocking them both. Honma took in both women for a moment, then shrugged and went back into the OR.

Levine reached into a storage locker set into the bulkhead, withdrew a first aid kit, and pointed to the chair. Sheila sat, and Levine bent over to pull off the bandage—none too gently, Sheila winced—and went to work cleaning it with a cotton swab. "You didn't clean this before you slapped the bandage on?" Levine asked her.

"I had other things to do. And it's not easy putting on a bandage with this." Sheila held up her artificial arm.

"Huh. How do you shave your legs then?" Levine raised an eyebrow.

"My husband helps."

"Oh. Well, that is _one_ advantage to being married." Levine had a ghost of a smile. "You know, this doesn't make us friends. I still hate what you do."

Sheila shrugged. "I'm too tired to care, Rainbow."

Levine chuckled. "Me too. I just wanted to make that very clear…however, I have learned one thing from this."

"And that is?"

"I respect you." At Sheila's expression of disbelief, Levine sniffed. "I do, Commander. We're in a hopeless position up here. I've heard talk that the Jaguars intend to kill us all when they take the hill—I still think you should've surrendered, mind—but these people _believe_ in you. You know that MechWarrior, Konno? He's a Sun Zhang cadet. He doesn't even _know_ you. But he was so brave. He knows he's going to die. But he's okay with that, because he thinks it's worth it. He thinks you're going to hold Toriyama." She tied the bandage on. "Now, then. That looks good. It should heal fine." Levine straightened. "So, are you going to hold Toriyama? Be honest."

"_We_ are going to hold Toriyama, Rainbow."

"All right, we then. Are _we _going to hold Toriyama?"

"Yes," Sheila said instantly.

Levine closed the medikit. "I hope so, Commander. I truly do." She collapsed onto the seat after Sheila got up. "Because I'd hate to think all these brave young people are dying for nothing."

* * *

Rainbow's words haunted Sheila as she sat on the parapet of the wall around Toriyama. It wasn't much of a parapet anymore; the point she sat on was one of the highest left. It was well after midnight, and cold, but Sheila, huddled in her parka, barely felt it. The Smoke Jaguars had their pickets out at the base of the mesa, and they had dutifully played the Deguello once more, but other than that, it might have been peacetime. Whatever that was.

"Hey, babe." Max came up and sat down next to her, handing her a mug of steaming coffee. "You go and see the doc?" He inspected the bandage on her cheek. "Yep. Looks a lot better."

"Rainbow did it for me," she told him with a small smile. "She's been assisting Honma."

"So I heard." Max took a sip of his coffee. "Well, at least it looks like she didn't commit malpractice." He looked at her. "You should come inside, get warm. Marion's on duty. She can watch the north slope. Besides, they're not coming tonight."

"I know." Their words held the conviction of fact. If the Snowbirds were battered, the Jaguars were not much better. "I wonder what Furey's doing right now. That was actually a pretty good plan of attack," Sheila admitted. "We just fought a little harder, like the piece of coal that wants to be a diamond." It was close, Sheila told herself, and the defense had come down to the militia's trick with the homemade napalm, Tooriu and Elfa holding the southeast corner against all odds, and Maysa Bari suddenly becoming a stone cold killer. Sheila didn't admit to herself that her sudden counterattack at the northeast corner had turned the tide there.

"They didn't hit the west face at all. That's strange," Max mused. "The tanks have barely fired a shot all battle. The Elementals were there, they just didn't attack. I bet Furey is _pissed._"

"Good." Sheila drank some of the coffee. "If he's smart, he'll leave. Even if he takes Toriyama, his Khans aren't going to be too thrilled if he eviscerates his Cluster doing it."

"I don't think he's going to leave." Max finished his coffee. "By the way, happy new year."

"Huh?" Then Sheila remembered. "Wow. First I forget it's Christmas, and now I forget it's New Year's. Well, happy new year to you, too." She craned her head upwards and kissed Max's cheek. "Not the best way to spend it. We should be having sex or something."

"This is going to sound strange coming from a guy, and me in particular, but…I can't say as I'm in the mood. Just too much happened today."

"Yeah, me too." Sheila wasn't really feeling all that up for certain activities, either. "Besides, Marion gave Maysa and Dan a few hours off, so they're probably making up for us." Sheila settled close to Max, who put his arms around her. "I feel so damn old all of a sudden."

* * *

"That settles that, quiaff?" Thom sighed. Char Furey nodded, his expression one of barely controlled rage. Dougray, on the other hand, leaned against a statue of Takashi Kurita nonchalantly, faintly amused. They were standing in the central park of Iwakuni, which normally on New Year's Day would be filled with people celebrating the holiday. Now it was mostly deserted, save for a handful of Smoke Jaguar warriors. In the middle of the park was a six-meter wide concrete circle that had the town's crest worked into it. That crest was scarred a little now, because the park had served as the venue for a Circle of Equals, to settle a Trial of Grievance between Elemental Star Commander Shannon and Elemental Star Commander Meaghan. Meaghan stood shakily at the side of the Circle, the winner, while Shannon was dragged dead from the Circle by medics, the loser.

Thom found the entire Trial ridiculous. Shannon and Meaghan had hated each other thoroughly, but both had been competent commanders. When Shannon had been cut out of her Elemental battlesuit, which had fused nearly solid from burning napalm, she had immediately demanded a Trial of Grievance with Meaghan, who once more had not pressed the attack on the western slope. The excuse she used was a valid one—Meaghan had reported seeing two Ontos heavy tanks waiting for her, and Elementals had learned to fear that tank's murderous firepower—and it was just enough to keep her from being court-martialed. Thom suspected, as did every other officer in the 17th Jaguar Regulars, that Meaghan had not pressed the attack simply because she hated Shannon and wanted to see the other Elemental embarrassed. The fact that the 17th Jaguar Regulars were losing the battle for Toriyama because of it didn't bother her in the slightest. A stronger commander might have stopped the rivalry somehow before it progressed to a duel to the death, but Optimai was an old man waiting to die.

"Aff, it does," Furey growled. "And now perhaps we can get on with this battle." He turned to look at Toriyama. In the dawn light, it looked even more formidable. The wall at the top was battered and even less of an impediment than it was before, but the smoking debris of 'Mechs—_his_ 'Mechs, Furey reflected angrily—still lay scattered on the slope. From what he had heard, the southeast corner, what Zellos had dubbed appropriately "Hell's Corner," looked even worse. There, the defenders had piled 'Mech parts on top of each other, presenting an attacker with a maze of burnt and twisted steel. His losses now totalled nine 'Mechs and 25 Elementals; the 6th BattleMech Star had ceased to exist. In theory, he still had a powerful force of 25 'Mechs and twice as many Elementals, but his master tech had informed him the Cluster needed a full day to rest and refit. That meant more lost time.

"Morale is low," Thom informed him, as if reading Furey's thoughts.

"Aff. What do you suggest we do about it?"

"Permission to speak frankly, Star Colonel."

Furey half-smiled. It was one of the reasons he liked Thom: the older MechWarrior was not afraid to talk straight to him. "Granted."

"We should leave Kagoshima."

Furey's eye began to tic. "_What_ did you say?" He had not been expecting that.

"We should leave Kagoshima," Thom repeated. "Star Colonel…Char…this planet is killing us. Even if we take Toriyama now, we will lose more doing so. It will be a hollow victory if we wreck the 17th Regulars in the process. The Khans will award victory, aff, but not a Pyrrhic one! Win or lose on Luthien, this war is far from over. Terra is still very far away, and the Clan will need us."

Faye, Zellos, and Dougray drifted over. "Need us!" Dougray spat. "Need us to guard supply routes, you mean."

"Aff!" Thom whirled on Dougray. "That is a way to honor the Clan, Dougray. It frees up other units to fight at the front. That is what garrison Clusters are for." He turned back to Furey. "Star Colonel, we have inflicted grevious damage on the Snowbirds, and we have practically destroyed the Sun Zhang Cadre. The battle for Luthien will start soon, if it is not underway already. We have achieved our goals of pinning down Kurita units and putting them out of action for awhile. Everything else is just hubris."

"I cannot leave Toriyama," Furey insisted, but Thom could see he had made his point.

"And what is Toriyama?" Thom asked. Furey, too busy staring at the mesa, said nothing, so it was Zellos that answered, "Toriyama is nothing more than a rock."

"Neg, it is a symbol!" Faye countered. "If we leave without having taken it, the Clan will still brand us a failure. I for one will not allow a pack of Inner Sphere freebirths mock me!" The fact that she herself was a freebirth apparently did not matter to Faye.

"You are welcome to try again," Zellos replied. "I, for one, am quite tired of watching my comrades and sibkin die for a symbol."

"That is cowardice!" Faye shouted.

"Neg, Star Commander. It is exhaustion." Zellos' quiet words shocked them into silence. "We are all exhausted."

"So are they. If we are to that point, so is Arla-Vlata." Furey turned his back on Toriyama. "Dougray, you have been somewhat quiet, for once."

Dougray ignored the jab. He was feeling quite pleased. The battle was going well for him. He was rid of two longstanding rivals in Cray and Shannon, and he had killed Senefa Malthus. He had watched in the early morning light as the Snowbirds had dragged the limp _Thunderbolt_ back across the wall. The hole near the canopy was unmistakable. Now all that remained was to take Toriyama and find irrefutable evidence that the former Jade Falcon was dead, take her body—or part of it, depending on what was left—and see it delivered to the Jade Falcon Khans. Once that was done, Dougray would easily accept adoption into that Clan, and compete and win a Bloodname of his own. Even if he failed in that, it was worth it to get away from the vainglorious and vacillating Char Furey, and the old fool Thom.

In the meantime, however, he had to make sure that Thom did not manage to convince Furey to leave Kagoshima without taking Toriyama. "I have been thinking, Star Colonel." He pointed to the mesa. "Those people up there are laughing at us right now." He doubted that, personally, but it was important to appeal to Furey's pride; besides, watching Faye turn purple with rage made her look all the more cute. "We must make them fear us again."

"The Deguello does not seem to be helping much," Zellos mused sardonically.

"Neg, because only history frea—ah, I mean, historians like Arla-Vlata would recognize it." Dougray had to be careful here, because Char Furey was also quite the historian, just as the Snowbird commander was rumored to be. "To the others, it is just a song. In fact, they may appreciate our serenading them at night, quiaff?"

"I wish we had artillery to serenade them with," Faye hissed.

"Unfortunately, we do not. I propose a more…visual method."

Furey looked interested. "Such as?"

Dougray smiled.

* * *

Sheila felt like she had just closed her eyes when her radio beeped for her attention. She was back aboard the _Minerva_, rather than sleeping in her 'Mech or in Max's _Battlemaster_ as she had been doing recently. The bed felt so very nice, and now some son of a bitch was disturbing her. "What is it?" she snarled into the radio.

"Sorry to disturb you, Sheila, but Furey's calling for you." It was Miroku Usagi.

Sheila was awake now. She glanced at the chronometer: she'd been asleep for two hours. It would have to do. "What's he want? Patch him through."

"Not over the radio. At the bottom of the north slope. We're communicating by loudspeaker."

_Asshole probably wants to play history games again,_ Sheila thought derisively. "All right, dammit. I'll be out there in a bit." Sheila clicked off the line, saw that Max was sound asleep, and decided against waking him. Slowly and quietly, she dressed in a jumpsuit—she had gone to bed wearing only her tube top and her MechWarrior shorts, in case the Jaguars attacked—and walked the kilometer to her position on the wall. It took time, but she didn't care if Furey had to cool his heels for awhile.

She stepped up to the top of the parapet where she and Max had cuddled the night before. The sun seemed unusually bright today, and it was actually rather pleasant. At the base of Toriyama stood Furey's _Masakari_, surrounded by the rest of his Command Star. He stood below it, flanked by a number of Elementals. Usagi sat on the parapet, feet dangling over the edge, Marion Rhialla alongside with her binoculars. They turned when Sheila arrived. "Hand me the loudspeaker," she ordered, and raised it to her lips. "I'm here, Furey!" she shouted. Her voice sounded strange and tinny as it echoed down the slope. "Can you hear me?" She lowered the loudspeaker. "Not that I give a shit whether you do or not," she murmured.

"You're in a bad mood," Marion grinned.

"Yes, I am. Bastard can't make up his mind whether or not he wants to talk or fight."

"I can hear you fine, Commander. How am I?" Furey's voice drifted back.

"You're five-square, Star Colonel. What do you want?"

"First to congratulate you on your defense of Toriyama, Sheila. May I say, you have done exceptionally well to this point."

"Why, thank you, Char. Let me say you've done exceptionally lousy to this point." Sheila felt her anger building and let it do so. "Now that the hearts and flowers horseshit is over, what do you want?"

"I'm giving you one last chance to surrender, Commander."

Marion rolled her eyes. "This guy really does think he's Santa Anna or something, doesn't he?" At Sheila's questioning look, Marion shrugged. "What? I _do_ read, Sheila."

Usagi shook his head. "We must have hurt him worse than we thought yesterday."

Sheila hesitated before replying. Best estimate was that Furey had lost ten or eleven 'Mechs so far, plus an unknown number of Elementals. Sheila had lost six; Usagi two, along with less than a dozen militia. The battle was still a very even fight. Mainly to see what Furey was up to, Sheila finally answered, "What terms are you proposing?"

"You leave Kagoshima within six hours."

"Impossible, Furey! I can't load more than half my 'Mechs in that time."

"I realize that, Sheila." Sheila could swear that she heard a smirk in Furey's voice. "Whatever you cannot load, you must leave behind. Understand my position, Commander. I have taken casualties."

"Really? How many?"

"I am not a fool, Sheila. I must have something to show for my troubles when I report back to my Khans. A few trophies will do."

"Tell him to go fuck himself," Marion said. "I won't have my 'Mech used as some prize, so Furey here can wave his dick around and claim to have actually beaten us."

Sheila was tempted to repeat Marion word for word, given how profanity bothered the average Clanfolk, but restrained herself. "You want your trophies, Furey, you're going to have to come and take them."

Furey actually laughed at that. "Very Leonidas of you, Sheila! May I make a counterproposal, then?"

"Knock yourself out, Furey." She glanced at Marion. "This ought to be good."

"I will allow your entire battalion to leave, with their 'Mechs and their colors, if you give yourself up."

Sheila blinked. "Come again?"

"Surrender yourself, Sheila Arla-Vlata. Just you. The rest of your battalion and the Sun Zhang can depart freely within 24 hours if you do so."

Sheila nearly fell. Furey couldn't be serious. "You'd do that, just for me?"

"Of course, Sheila! It is a fair trade. You for your battalion. I promise you no harm will come to you. You have my word as an officer and a gentleman."

Sheila's knuckles turned bone-white around the loudspeaker. She looked at Usagi. He shook his head once. Then she looked at Marion. "Keep him talking," the older woman said, her face red with anger. "I can get Kinosh up here with a sniper rifle and we'll put a new asshole in his head." Mistaking the expression on Sheila's face for something else, she leveled a finger at her. "Do _not_ play the martyr, Sheila. I'll duct tape you to the _Minerva_ before I let you give yourself up for that jumped-up little prick."

"Well, Commander?" Furey called out.

"I'd be your bondswoman?" Sheila asked instead. Now every head within earshot on Toriyama was turned in her direction.

"Aff, Sheila!"

Sheila handed the loudspeaker to a stunned Marion, pulled out her revolver, and fired it at Furey. He was far out of range, but the report sounded like a howitzer. She could see Furey leap backwards, out of surprise. Holstering the pistol, she grabbed the loudspeaker again. "There's your answer, you bastard!"

"I am truly sorry to hear that," Furey replied, and he sounded as if he truly was. She could see him turn to one of the Elementals, and motioned for the binoculars. Through them, she saw the Elemental drag out Mary Scott. She fought and kicked, but Sheila could see that Scott had been hurt, and one eye looked puffy. She looked weak and bedraggled, but still defiant as ever. She was also in chains, hand and foot. To Sheila's horror, she saw the Elemental put the barrel of its underslung machine gun to Scott's head.

"Sheila," Furey spoke, "this is your MechWarrior Mary Scott."

"I can see that, jerkoff! What game are you playing at?"

"No game, Sheila. If you do not surrender in six hours, or give yourself up, I will be forced to start shooting prisoners."

"He can't be serious!" Marion exclaimed. "Good God! Even I won't start gunning prisoners!"

"Furey, are you crazy?" Sheila shouted back. "What about honor? You want a fair fight, you have it, but don't do this!" Sheila brought the binoculars back up again, and to her surprise, Furey seemed hesitant. He glanced behind him twice, and she thought she saw someone else standing in the shadows. "We don't shoot prisoners! That's against every law of armed conflict there is!"

"Those are my terms, Commander. Do you accept or not?"

Sheila told him, "Let me consult with my officers," mainly to buy time. She had turned to Marion and Usagi, and now Elfa had waddled up. She had no idea what to do.

The decision was made for her. Mary Scott suddenly lashed out, snatched the loudspeaker from Furey's hands in her own manacled ones, and yelled up the slope, "To hell with him, Sheila! He doesn't have the balls—" She was cut off in midsentence as a shot rang out—but not from the Elemental, who staggered back in surprise as blood splashed across its armor. Mary Scott fell forward, dead before she hit the ground; whoever had fired had done so from behind.

A roar of shock and outrage went up from Toriyama's ramparts, and Sheila saw weapons raised. "Hold your fire!" Sheila shouted, hoping the MechWarriors would hear her; Furey was out of range of all but the longest weapons, and there was no telling how many more prisoners might be behind the _Masakari._ Or that the Jaguars simply wouldn't massacre Iwakuni town. Sheila raised the binoculars, trying to see some sort of life from Scott, to see if she had been wounded, but the spray of bright blood against the grayish rock of Toriyama told her otherwise. Sheila felt tears on her cheeks. Detachedly, she noticed that Furey actually looked shocked himself, staring down at Scott's body, but that didn't matter. "Char Furey, you son of a bitch!" Sheila screamed over the loudspeaker. "You want an answer, motherfucker? I'll give you a fucking answer!" She whirled on Elfa. "Get the Jaguar prisoners. Bring them out here."

Elfa saw what was in Sheila's eyes and shook her head vehemently. "No, Sheila. We can't—we can't do that—"

"_Now, _Major! Get them out here!"

Elfa turned, stopped, and then looked back at Sheila defiantly. "No, Commander," she repeated. "That is an unlawful order, one I will not obey."

"I'll do it, then." Marion jumped to her feet and began yelling orders laced with profanity. Stung into action, people moved towards the _Minerva_, where the prisoners were being kept in locked staterooms and in the infirmary. Elfa speared Sheila with her gaze. "You're going to shoot prisoners, Sheila?"

"I'm going to retaliate, Elfa."

"An eye for an eye?" Elfa shot back. "All that's going to do is make the whole world blind."

"When did someone replace my second-in-command with Rainbow Levine?"

Elfa's eyes were blazing. "When they replaced my commanding officer with Joseph Stalin! Sheila, for God's sake! We can't sink to Furey's level!"

"He just _killed_ Mary Scott, Elfa!" Sheila yelled at her. Half the mesa could hear them, but she didn't care. "I saw him do it! He's probably going to kill more, so I'm going to kill some of his right back. He wants to play rough, so be it!"

Elfa walked over to the foot of Kahvi's battered _Dragon_ and sat down heavily. "Okay, Sheila. Okay. But I want to see you do it yourself. Don't order someone else."

Sheila reached down and pulled out her pistol again. "I never had any intention to ask someone else, Elfa." She spun the cylinders; there were five rounds left. She saw that there were three prisoners being dragged towards her; the fourth was still in bed recovering from his wounds. From the glares the Jaguars got, the majority was on Sheila's side in this. One of the Jaguars stumbled and fell; Felisanna, who had been leading them along with Marion and a mixed group of militia and Kinosh's infantry, kicked him before dragging him to his feet. "Where do you want them?" she asked.

"On the wall. Where Furey can see them."

Felisanna noticed the gun in Sheila's hand. "You going to shoot them?"

"You're damn right I'm going to shoot them."

"Let me do it." Felisanna patted the butt of the assault rifle she carried. Until her _Wolfhound_ was repaired sufficiently, she had assigned herself to Kinosh's platoon. She motioned at the bandage around her head. "I owe them." She looked at the Jaguars. "I owe them a_ lot_."

Sheila didn't like what she saw in Felisanna's eyes, but that could wait. The Jaguars had heard the exchange, and their expressions of defiance and arrogance were now gone completely, replaced by fear. Their hands were zip-tied in front of them and their shoelaces tied together, so there was no chance of them making a break for it down the slope. Two militiamen shoved the three Jaguars to the parapet. The MechWarrior came to attention as best he could, knowing what was going to happen and determined to die bravely. The fighter pilots tried to do the same, but Sheila could see that they were clearly out of their element. Pilots, even more so than MechWarriors, didn't shoot people in their parachutes as a matter of honor; pilots that did this were ostracized even among their own units, and in every Successor State but House Kurita and House Liao, would face a firing squad of their own should they do so. The Jaguar pilots were terrified.

"Shoot the blonde first," Elfa called out.

"Fuck off, Elfa," Sheila snapped. "You're not making this any easier." Nonetheless, Sheila stepped up and put the heavy revolver between the eyes of the blonde fighter pilot. She was not pretty at all, a product of Clan genetic engineering that gave their pilots large eyes and slight frames, to see better and resist G-forces more efficiently. The Jaguar bit her lip to keep it from trembling and closed her eyes. Sheila looked past her; even at this distance she could see Scott's body, and the stick figure that was Furey. She thumbed back the hammer, which sounded extraordinarily loud. The pistol trembled slightly, and Sheila cursed under her breath to keep it steady. Her finger was tight on the trigger. The barrel was less than a centimeter from the Jaguar's head; it would not miss and would be instantly fatal. Sheila smelled urine and realized that the pilot had wet herself. The Jaguar opened her eyes for a moment, gazed down the barrel, and swiftly closed them again, but not before Sheila noticed her eyes were opaline blue.

The same shade of blue as Louisa Keynes Arla-Vlata's.

Sheila lowered the pistol. "I can't. I can't do it, dammit." She more fell to the parapet than sat. "God help me, I can't do it." She threw down the revolver, buried her face in her hands and began to cry bitterly, hating herself because everyone could see her and commanders weren't supposed to start crying.

Sheila instinctively jumped and threw herself to one side when she heard the clatter of an assault rifle firing. Ending up sliding down the parapet on the friendly side, she looked up to see the Jaguar prisoners drop in a welter of blood to fall down the other side of the wall. Felisanna walked forward, stood on the wall itself, raised the rifle, and emptied the rest of her magazine into the prisoners' bodies. She raised the rifle high with one hand, gave Furey the finger with the other, and dropped back down on the other side. "It's all right, Commander. I got this one," she said conversationally as she walked past, tossing aside the empty clip and loading a new one.


	13. Darkest Before the Dawn

_AUTHOR'S NOTES: Well, it's been a little bit, hasn't it?_

_I had to take a break, first from writing this fanfic, then from writing fanfiction in general. One, I had written myself into a major corner with my NCIS fanfiction (and still don't know how to get out of that; suggestions welcome), and two, it was getting so writing was becoming a chore. Add to that a few persistent health problems, and it just was time to sit back and not write for a little while. But I'm feeling better in mind, body, and spirit (hopefully) and I'm ready to get this party finished. And yes, it's almost done. Someday I will write an actual short story and not a novella._

_One reason why I was having trouble was because this story was just getting too bleak again. The Snowbirds are surrounded, with little hope of rescue, and facing annilihation—and then Felisanna starts killing prisoners. I'm not going back on that, because war is terrible and we should be reminded of that. But it's not easy writing from there, because now Sheila has to live with it, at a time when her best friend is in a coma. _

_Then again, it's always darkest before the dawn._

_REVIEWER'S CORNER:_

_Eric Reese: Thanks, man! I'll do my best._

_Kat: Good point. Besides, Char Furey is in lust with an idealized version of Sheila, not the real person._

_Moisin: No offense taken! I don't take pleasure in putting Sheila through the wringer, but having looked over my fanfictions…my female characters do take their share of lumps, huh? Geez. I like women, honestly. As for an eye for an eye, Sheila gave into rage. _

_Panzerfaust: Your mention of your granddad reminds me of the quote from Dick Winters in _Band of Brothers _(the book), "You can't judge a man until you've been there and walked in his boots." Winters was saying that in reply to accusations that Captain Speirs had gunned German prisoners. It happened—maybe not as much as Steven Spielberg thinks, but it happened. And yes, Felisanna is based very much on Robert from _Red Dawn_; that was the scene I had in mind when I wrote that last chapter. (With that in mind, the closing paragraph of this chapter should be downright scary.) Elfa has some reasons for feeling the way she should, two of which she's pregnant with. And thanks for the long review! I love those. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy!_

_Rogue: I hope so. I had one of my students saying that war is just pushing buttons the other day. I just finished reading David Bellavia's _House to House, _and I assured her it isn't._

_Flashpoint: Glad you liked it. I was surprised how many people thought I had killed off Senefa. _

_MUSIC CORNER: "Buried With Honor" from the _Lewis and Clark _National Geographic documentary soundtrack, "Strength" by Information Society, and "Rise" from the _Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex _soundtrack._

* * *

_SDS _Minerva, _Toriyama_

_Kagoshima, Pesht Military District, Draconis Combine_

_1 January 3052_

Sheila Arla-Vlata sat next to Senefa Malthus' bed, head rested on folded hands. She was facing Senefa, but not really looking at her; not really looking at anything, for that matter. Her mind was whirling.

She supposed she shouldn't feel guilty: after all, she had refused to pull the trigger, in the end. Felisanna had done it, which said much about the young woman's deteriorating state of mind. Yet Sheila couldn't take that easy way out. She had _intended_ to kill the Jaguar prisoners, in nothing less than revenge for Mary Scott being killed by Furey. The fact she had a change of heart at the last minute didn't matter. Sheila was the commander: it was her that had the responsibility.

Both sides had said nothing more after the last gunshots had echoed across Toriyama; Sheila figured Furey had been just as shocked as she was, and maybe was having the same grinding sense of guilt she was—Furey hadn't shot Mary Scott either, someone else had. Now, as the sun dipped below the horizon, both sides faced each other in the same positions they had occupied for the past few days. The only thing that had changed was that both sides understood now that the next assault would be the last, one way or the other. Now not even Rainbow Levine could deny that the battle for Toriyama was going to be to the death. Neither side would take prisoners or show mercy now.

Sheila heard Senefa softly murmur something in her sleep, and reached out to squeeze her hand. The Clanswoman had not woken up, but she was obviously showing some brain activity, so the likelihood of a crippling brain injury was low—or so Honma assured Sheila when she had entered the infirmary aboard the _Minerva._ It seemed strange to see Senefa like this, sitting motionless on a diagnostic bed, tubes going in and out of her body, dressed in a green hospital smock, not in her usual uniform. Yet she didn't look vulnerable, as Sheila had felt when she was bedridden. She looked peaceful.

"I don't know what to do, Senefa," Sheila said to her sleeping friend. "I've lost control of my unit. We kill prisoners. We seize someone's house and turn it into a fortress, and we don't care when the kids cry because even they know there's going to be nothing left to come back to. We have to win the battle, of course, but what will we become if we do?

"I don't know if we can hold another assault. We had a bag of tricks, and now it's gone. I don't have you on the wall. Mary Scott's gone; Stohr's gone; Kaatha's gone. Felisanna's gone crazy, and I wonder if Maysa's not far behind. I have to hold, Senefa, but I don't know if I can. The perimeter's too long and I don't have enough people or 'Mechs to hold it." Sheila, despite herself, looked for some sort of recognition that Senefa had heard, but her expression hadn't changed. "Yeah, I guess that was too much to ask." Sheila patted Senefa's hand like a mother, then got to her feet. "We need a miracle, Senefa, and we're a little overdrawn on the bank of miracles. I'll come back later." On impulse, Sheila leaned over and kissed Senefa's forehead.

She was halfway to the door when she heard Senefa rasp out, "You don't make a very good Prince Charming."

Sheila whirled around, wondering if she had imagined the words, but Senefa's eyes were open now. The Clanswoman glanced around the room, then down at herself, then back to Sheila. "I'm aboard the _Minerva,_ then. That's right, I got hit. Why are you crying?"

Sheila crossed the few feet between them and hugged Senefa tightly, enough that the other woman gasped. "I'm crying because you're not dead, you dumb Clanner!"

"Of course I'm not dead. I hurt too much to be dead." Senefa weakly pushed Sheila away. "Stop, or someone will think we're coupling in here. Can't have that, quiaff? No telling what people will say. You know how battalion gossip is." Senefa actually giggled at that.

Sheila knew it was because of the painkillers and the fact that Senefa had just awoken from a near-coma that made the normally reserved woman a little loopy, but she laughed nonetheless through her tears. "Senefa," she said with a grin that threatened to split her face, "you're using contractions."

"No, I'm not." Senefa stared intently at her, then insisted, "No, I'm not, dammit!"

* * *

Sheila left the _Minerva_ feeling somewhat better. On one hand, having Senefa up and talking was a very good thing; Honma was now sure she would recover fully—in a few weeks, which Senefa was none too pleased about. On the other, Sheila felt as if someone had cut off her other hand, and realized just how much she had come to rely on Senefa for advice and friendship.

She looked around the perimeter and her good spirits evaporated. The northern ramparts might as well have not existed, for all the damage done to them, and there was too much space between 'Mechs. She needed at least a battalion—36 'Mechs—to hold the north wall alone. She had just over half that left, and all those were damaged to one extent or another. Nicia Caii was working miracles herself by repairing machines, but her techs were exhausted, parts were increasingly scarce, and already some MechWarriors were being told that minor problems—destroyed upper arm actuators, snapped leg myomers, even cracked engine shielding—would simply have to be dealt with later, if there was a later. It was a snowball effect: the more the machines were damaged, the less time and parts Nicia would have to repair them. This was to say nothing of the morale of the defenders. They were in a state of nervous exhaustion, sleep snatched in four hour stretches which were completely inadequate. The food supplies were holding up, but only for another 24 hours before she would have to cut rations; Sheila didn't worry overmuch about that, or the fact that the Snowbirds only had enough ammunition for one more big battle, because she suspected that Toriyama would either hold or fall in the next two days, at the latest. She wasn't alone in this sentiment: looking in the faces and eyes of people she passed—Snowbirds, Sun Zhang cadets, Kagoshima militia, even Levine's villagers—there was an expression of resignation, of time running out.

There was a small rise near the airfield. Sheila walked up it, feeling the sea breeze ruffle her hair, which badly needed washing. She could see the whole mesa from here, and part of Iwakuni, though no Smoke Jaguars were visible now. She could also see how pitifully thin her line was in person. The south wall had only what was left of O'Reilly's lance and Tessya's Alpha Recon watching it, though that front at least was impervious to 'Mechs, and Sheila knew the Jaguar Elementals would be reluctant to try that again. The southwest corner was probably safe as well, if only because nearly a company's worth of wrecked 'Mechs had been bulldozed there, and after two tries, the Jaguars were not likely to give it another shot. From here, she could see the squat bulk of Marion Rhialla and Alfred Dennison's _Palladiums_ at the center of the north wall; Marion had pulled them back so they couldn't be seen from the bottom of the mesa, to make Furey guess where the powerful 100-tonners were. Sheila could also see Maysa's _Rifleman_, slowly turning as its MechWarrior scanned for anything that might look like a target. Maysa at least seemed back to normal, but there was a shadow over the teenager Sheila had hoped she would never see. The north wall might be a target, but again, Furey had tried it twice and failed, largely because of that massed firepower.

That left the west slope at Levine's village. Moore's tanks had barely fired a shot for the entire siege. Only Elementals had come there, and that as a probe. There was a large expanse of ground beyond the wall that ran the perimeter of the village, where two Stars could mass easily. Moreover, the defenders would not be able to fire on anything coming up the west slope without exposing themselves to return fire; the tanks would not be able to shoot until something actually came onto the mesa itself, since their guns would not depress low enough to fire. Sheila turned in place, to look directly east. Nor had the Clans really tried to assault Gateway Rock, though that would be difficult to assault with Elementals and impossible with 'Mechs. The northeast corner, where Miroku Usagi and his cadets stood, had nearly fallen once already, and it made a tempting target. As the Smoke Jaguars had demonstrated ably the day before, that too was a blind spot easily exploited.

Senefa could offer no advice to Sheila's most pressing questions: how to hold Toriyama, and where would Furey strike next? Sheila had never been able to be strong everywhere; her problems were compounded now with losses. Furey could mass for an assault in two places that the defenders wouldn't be able to see until their attackers were on top of them. Looking over the mesa, Sheila was suddenly struck with the thought that this must have been what the commanders of famous last stands must had felt: Leonidas staring down the narrow valley of Thermopylae at a Persian army that outnumbered him twenty to one; William Barrett Travis watching the Mexican Army engulf his tiny command at the Alamo; John Chard watching four thousand Zulu warriors pour from the Shiyane Heights towards Rorke's Drift; even her own ancestor, Karelia Bighorn-Vlata, who had died with twenty of her Black Watchmen at Snoqualmie Pass against Stefan Amaris' Rim Worlders not long after he had wiped out the Cameron family. Had they known, on the last day? Chard had lived to tell about it, but he was the exception.

She saw David Moore waving for her attention, so she reluctantly put those thoughts away and headed down. "Hi," Moore said as she arrived, "just wanted you to know Terry d'Sotra is here." It took a minute for Sheila's tired brain to remember that d'Sotra now commanded Fighter Squadron Six rather than Virginia Lossiemouth, who was in the _Minerva's_ infirmary as well. She had spotted the distinctive swept-forward wing _Stingray_ as she left the DropShip, but had quite forgotten that she had asked d'Sotra to risk landing at Toriyama, which now had only one serviceable runway, to plan strategy. She needed sleep, soon. "Lead on," she told Moore, and they walked to the shadow of the shell of an oil tank. Waiting there was Elfa, Marion, d'Sotra, Max, and Usagi. Mimi Stykkis and Tessya Blackthorn were leaning against the other tank, obviously eavesdropping, but Sheila couldn't bring herself to care overmuch.

"Got some good news," Sheila announced as she reached them. "Senefa's going to be all right…well, as all right as any of us."

"That's something, at least," Max sighed.

"Yeah," Elfa groused, "now she can be killed in her bed like Jim Bowie. You know, he was at the Alamo, and he—"

"We know who Bowie was!" Marion snapped. "Let Sheila get on with it." She and Elfa glared at each other, then the latter looked away, at the ground. She refused to look at Sheila, and the two hadn't spoken since Felisanna had shot the Jaguar prisoners.

That would have to wait. "Here's the situation," Sheila told them. "As you can see, we've got too much wall and not enough defenders. We can't afford to abandon any of the perimeter though, because if the Jags get a foothold, they'll overrun us for sure. There is the possibility too that the Jaguars will end the siege, and I don't want to make Furey think he's winning."

"What makes you think that?" d'Sotra asked. "From the air, it looks like they mean to stay."

"Because if we're worn out, they've got to be too," Marion said. "Not all of us can afford to loaf around like you fighter jocks."

"That's enough," Sheila snarled, seeing d'Sotra ball his fists. "Dammit, we've got enough problems without us fighting amongst ourselves." She took a deep breath to calm her own nerves, only to have Usagi raise a hand. "Yes, Sho-sa?"

"I feel I have to ask, if nothing else for the sake of the militia," he said. "What if Furey makes good on his pledge to shoot more prisoners, or gun down the people of Iwakuni? We're sort of out of bargaining chips now. What will we do?"

"Nothing," Sheila responded simply. "Other than take no prisoners from here on out."

"We already decided that." Elfa still didn't meet Sheila's eyes. "Or rather, Felisanna decided for us."

There was silence for a few moments, then Sheila continued. "We need the militia here. I need them to work—along with every able-bodied person not immediately needed on the wall." She turned to look west and gestured with her fingers. "I want a secondary line built straight across the mesa from the north wall to the south wall. It needs to be nine feet tall, at least. You can leave a gap between the storehouses for the tanks to get through."

"Oh, thank God," Moore breathed with a smile. "I thought we were about to become a sacrifice force."

_You still might be,_ Sheila thought, knowing that retreating Moore's tanks under fire would be a very iffy proposition against Clan 'Mechs and Elementals. "Let's hope not. Sho-sa, unfortunately that means a lot of work for the militia."

"They're very tired," Usagi answered. "And what will we use to build the wall?"

"I don't give a damn," Sheila shot back. "Use whatever you can. And I want a ditch in front of it. We need something that will make the Jaguars lose momentum, anything that someone can stay alive behind. Understood?"

"Yes, Commander. Very good, Commander." Usagi knew there was no point in arguing, mainly because Sheila was right.

* * *

"Hey," Mimi whispered to Tessya, "that's what _he_ said."

"Who?" Tessya said out the side of her mouth, trying to hear what Sheila was saying.  
"Chard! Well, not really Chard, but the guy playing him in that flatscreen we've been watching."

"Oh, that _Zulu_ thing?" Mimi had apparently gotten hooked on watching the ancient film; though Tessya agreed that the movie was topical given their current situation, Mimi was running it into the ground, playing the movie's sound at earsplitting decibels on the _Cambrai_ until Sheila had ordered her to turn it down. The sound of guns from the movie had made several nervous militiamen think they were under sniper fire.

"Yeah! They were building a mealie-bag wall just like Sheila was talking about. The old color sergeant said that the men were very tired, and Chard told him he didn't give a damn, just like Sheila did!" Mimi shook her head. "Weird."

"If you say so," Tessya replied, rolling her eyes.

* * *

"I think they're going to hit the west slope next, with maybe diversionary attacks on the other walls," Sheila was saying. "If they hit the west side in force, no offense, Dave, but I don't think you're going to be able to stop them."

"No offense taken," Moore replied. "You going to reinforce us?"

"Not unless you're about to be overrun. Instead, I want you to fall back real quick to the middle wall." Sheila turned to Marion. "If we lose the west wall, I want you to be the pivot. The north wall line pulls back to defend the middle wall, along with Tessya's lance on the south wall. You'll swing like a gate, with Marion the hinge—okay?" There were nods, and once more Usagi raised a hand. Sheila motioned to him, feeling bad for having snapped at the older man earlier.

"Commander, I am worried about the northeast corner. I think the Jaguars may try that again, with a larger force this time. Last time they almost succeeded—and if there is one thing I have noticed about the Clans, they do not reinforce defeat. They _do_ reinforce success."

"That's true," Sheila admitted. "Unfortunately, the only thing we can do is move our reserve a little closer to your position…unless you've got another suggestion."

"I do, but before I offer it, let me remind you—all of you," Usagi said, glancing around the group, "that I am a Kuritan. Therefore, please remember that we have different cultures." He turned back to Sheila. "We need some sort of early warning in that draw. An infantryman with a radio, perhaps—something. I can hold the northeast corner, Sheila. I just need some sort of warning."

"That's suicide," Max blurted. Sheila nodded. An infantryman could probably find some way to conceal himself in the draw, though there was no vegetation there. The moment he or she started transmitting, however, they were dead: the Clans would instantly find where the transmission was coming from.

"I agree," Usagi replied, "but there comes a time in our profession that one must ask someone to do the unthinkable."

"Not today we're not," Elfa said. "We've already committed the unthinkable once in a 24 hour period." Now she met Sheila's eyes, but Sheila couldn't read what was in the older woman's.

"Where do you want us?" d'Sotra asked. He had been silent to this point.

"We've been in communication with the Kagoshima militia," Sheila told him. "Did they land okay at Chitose?"

"Yeah, they got through okay. The Jags didn't mess with them—I imagine because all they have are Mechbuster fighters. I guess the Clanners don't see them as much of a threat." Mechbusters were conventional fighters, built strictly for garrison units. While they armed a titanic Autocannon/20 in the nose and could carry a large bombload, their lack of range and only five rounds for the AC/20 had made the aircraft a bit of a disappointment. It was also comparatively slow and nowhere near as manueverable as a fusion-powered aerospace fighter; a Mechbuster's life expectancy in a fight with a fighter was measured in seconds.

"Can they make the flight from Chitose to Toriyama?"

"That depends. If we load them up with external tanks, then yeah. Otherwise, it's a one way trip. Hell, it's a one-way trip anyhow, unless they have strong escort—oh, shit." The truth dawned on d'Sotra. "I think I know what you're about to say, Sheila."

"We need them, Terry. A couple of strafing runs with those AC/20s and the Jags will be hurting."

"They may not live long enough to make those runs, Sheila."

"We have to try."

D'Sotra sighed heavily. Few fighter pilots enjoyed escort missions, which meant slowing down in a combat zone so as not to outdistance their charges. Most escort missions were with DropShips, which at least could defend themselves. The Mechbusters wouldn't be able to. "Okay."

"If you can break loose for a few strafing runs, that would be great too," Sheila added.

"We'll do our best." Fighter pilots didn't like mixing it up on the ground either. Unlike 'Mechs, which could track their targets for kilometers before opening fire, the fighters would have a split-second to acquire their targets and shoot, all the while dodging radar-guided return fire and watching for a prowling enemy fighter. Too slow, and survival was nil. Too fast, and the pilot didn't hit anything, or worse, his shots went into friendly lines. Still, a strafing attack from a heavy fighter could be devastating. D'Sotra pointed a finger at Sheila. "You will, of course, be buying each pilot a case of Timbiqui dark beer once this thing is over."

"If we survive this, I'll build them a damn bar." Sheila looked at the sky. "Well, that's all I have. Anyone else?" No one said anything. "Let's get to work, then."

* * *

Seeing that the meeting was breaking up, Mimi and Tessya headed off, in an attempt to look like they weren't eavesdropping—which was pretty hard to do, considering that Mimi was hobbling along on her crutches. "Looks like we're staying, then," Tessya sighed.

"Like there was ever any doubt." Mimi shook her head. "I wonder what poor bastard Sheila's going to put down that ravine over on the northeast corner."

"I don't think Sheila's going to do that. Max said it was suicide, and he's right."

Mimi laughed. "You don't know her like I do, Tess. The last time I saw Sheila get that look on her face was when Renny Sanderlin dared her to eat a live Loric goldfish. And yes, she did it."

"Glad I went to Sanglamore." They chuckled as they walked to the south wall. Neither woman saw Felisanna hiding behind the other oil tank.

* * *

Char Furey looked down the table at his commanders. The dinner was excellent, the best Iwakuni could provide. He had made sure of that. Both Thom and Dougray had warned about poison, but the inn's cook had been angry at an affront to his honor. If he was going to kill the Smoke Jaguars, the old man had snapped, he would do it with his own carving knife, not poison. Furey found it strange that the old cook so clearly hated him, but would stand by his honor and a tradition of hospitality nonetheless.

The doors were locked, with Elemental guards on them to prevent eavesdropping. Furey reached into his suitcase, cleared away a spot on the long table, and unrolled a map of Toriyama. No holotank had been brought this time: holotanks had to be programmed, and could be hacked. He was taking no chances this time, because this was the last time. Everyone at the table knew it. The 17th Jaguar Regulars could simply not survive another failed attack. Furey was sure that the Snowbirds could not either. It would be victory or death for both sides, with no quarter asked and none given, and he rather preferred it that way.

"We attack at 0530 hours—just before dawn. Any objections?" he began. There were none. "Good." His fingers splayed across the map as he explained, pointing to each commander in turn.

"The 1st and 2nd BattleMech Stars will attack up the north slope in concert with the 2nd Elemental Star." Thom and Kess nodded. Kess was Shannon's replacement in command of the 2nd Elemental. Furey knew Thom was not pleased with the plan, but he was increasingly displeased with everything. "We are the diversion, but I intend to press the attack nonetheless if a breakthrough is achieved.

"The 3rd and 4th BattleMech Stars will attack from the west. Make the climb quickly, Zellos. If you do so, you can be on the wall before the defenders can react. According to high-level reconnaissance passes, the Snowbirds have not reinforced the tanks there. Meaghan, your lack of aggressiveness may have paid dividends." Meaghan shot Furey a look of pure hatred. "I believe there will be no such lack this time, quineg?"

"Neg, Star Colonel," she bit out. Inside, she was both seething with rage and terrified. Optimai hadn't been aggressive either, but he wasn't being criticized, and his Elementals weren't marching into the teeth of two platoons of tanks.

"Excellent. Dougray, you will lead the 5th and 7th BattleMech Stars up the draw here, and strike the northeast corner. We had success there yesterday. I believe we will again, quiaff?"

"Aff," Dougray agreed. It was likely that the defenders would expect another attack there, but the terrain was still the same: a quick dash up the ravine, following the trail that Thom had blazed, and they would be once more virtually on top of the Sun Zhang cadets, who would fight bitterly—and be overrun, because instead of Thom's single Star of five 'Mechs, Dougray would have ten, having filled out his losses by adding the survivors of the 6th BattleMech Star. "I will need some diversionary fire to decoy the DropShips, however."

"Elemental Star Commander Optimai—" Furey stopped in midsentence, realizing that Dougray was still speaking, and glared at the other MechWarrior. His dislike of Dougray had progressed to loathing. Furey admitted to himself that he probably would have allowed Arla-Vlata to call his bluff: seeing Mary Scott, dressed in the rags of a uniform and enchained, but still defiant, had made him respect the foulmouthed mercenary. It had been Dougray who had shot her, from behind. Now, instead of facing a demoralized foe, he was facing an angry one. He doubted he'd be able to take Arla-Vlata as a bondswoman now. For that, Dougray would pay dearly. "Elemental Star Commander Optimai will handle that, Star Captain."

"I would like to change the plan somewhat, Star Colonel—with your permission." Optimai inclined his head to Furey.

"Oh?" Furey was taken aback. Optimai rarely spoke up in meetings.

"Yes. My Elementals would like to attack Gateway Rock without our battlesuits."

"_What?"_ Furey knew Optimai had a death wish, but this was going a little far. "Why?"

"Not for the reasons you think, Star Colonel." Optimai smirked. "The Elemental battlearmor is effective, yes, but it is not designed for mountain fighting, quiaff? Therefore we will attack the Rock dressed in normal fatigues, armed with assault rifles and knives. I wish to attack five minutes before the actual attack begins. With luck, we can storm and overwhelm the defenders before they have a chance, then board the DropShips and take them as a prize. The infantry on Gateway Rock are expecting to hear bulky battlearmor, not men and women fighting in the old way."

Furey's eyebrows rose, but then he returned the old Elemental's grin. "That is an excellent suggestion, Star Commander." It would be a feather in Furey's cap if he could retake the big DropShip, the one named _Minerva,_ since the Snowbirds had taken it as a prize from the Jade Falcons. "Permission granted. I hope to see you on the ramp of the _Minerva._"

Optimai's smile didn't waver. "You will not see me, Star Colonel, but you will see my people there. I expect to be killed."

The good cheer instantly evaporated. Furey nodded once in acknowledgement, then turned to Star Captain Michaels, the 17th's air wing commander. "Michaels, I want a combat air patrol over the field at all times."

Michaels shrugged. "Certainly, Star Colonel. Would you like strafe support?"

"That will not be necessary." In theory, Clan fighter pilots were trained in strafing and bomb runs, but in practice they despised doing so even more than their Inner Sphere counterparts. While the Jade Falcons and the Wolves were more apt to use air support, as far as the Smoke Jaguar pilots were concerned, the ground battle was the MechWarriors' and Elementals' jobs; theirs was to clear the sky and keep it. "There was a report that the Kagoshima militia flew their aircraft to the Snowbirds' air squadron base at Chitose today."

"The report is accurate, but hardly worth worrying over, Star Colonel." Michaels dismissed it with a wave of his hand. "The militia flies conventional fighters. Not worth the effort."

"If they fly over Toriyama tomorrow, I want them dead—no matter how little of an effort it takes."

"Aff, Star Colonel." Michaels smiled hungrily, exposing pointed incisors that made him look like a vampire. His personality was roughly to match: his callsign was _Terminator_, after the ancient robot movie, because he had all the personality of one. "A kill is a kill after all, quiaff?" He was two short of twenty victories.

Furey stepped back from the table. "Ladies and gentlemen, I believe the next 24 hours will determine the fate of this unit." He raised a glass of sake. "To today's battle."

* * *

Night had fallen, and for the first time, the Deguello was not being played. Max stood next to Sheila on the small rise. "It's weird," he said into the silence. "I almost miss not being serenaded."

"I don't." Sheila had grown to hate the tune. "If Furey played it tonight, I was going to have Cynmar fire an Arrow IV missile into the damn band."

"You wouldn't do that." Max reconsidered. Sheila just might be serious. "Besides, Fabian only has one round left."

She smiled wanly at him. "So it's just as well, then."

Max hugged her close; the temperature was dropping noticeably, though the sky was clear. "He's going to attack tomorrow."

"I know. If I know Furey, at dawn." Sheila shook her head. "Romantic, and I don't mean in the lovey-dovey way. Next time I'm in a position to launch a surprise attack, I'm doing it at five in the afternoon." She sighed, and kicked at the ground. Dust flew up. "Max, how did we get into this?"

"We're here." It was a simple answer, but it was answer enough.

They heard bootsteps behind them, and turned. It was hard to see in the pre-moon darkness, but no one else on Toriyama had pink stubble for hair. "I'm not disturbing you, am I?" Felisanna asked politely.

"No," Sheila replied. Felisanna stepped closer, and Sheila felt an unfamiliar twinge of fear. There was no hint of insanity in the other woman's eyes, but a sane person wouldn't shoot prisoners. _Hypocrite,_ a voice growled at Sheila inwardly. _You were going to shoot them._

_No, I wasn't, _she answered herself. _I couldn't shoot them. I'm not that kind of person._ Sheila made herself look Felisanna in the face. _But Felisanna apparently has become that kind of person. Not only did she shoot them, she reloaded and shot them again._

"What do you want, Felisanna?" Max asked. He tried to keep his voice neutral, but it still came out with an edge.

She appeared to take no notice. "Commander, I'm sorry, but I couldn't help but overhear the meeting today…" She hesitated, then continued, "Well, I was eavesdropping…"

"That's fine," Sheila said. "I'm sure it's all over Toriyama by now anyway."

"Well, Sho-sa Usagi mentioned something about putting an OP in that ravine on the northeast corner—"

"No." Sheila felt anger welling up now. "I'm not putting you out there."

"Sheila, I _want_ to do it."

"Because you shot those Jaguars today?" Sheila turned to Max in surprise. Asking that question took more courage than she had.

"No," Felisanna answered angrily. "They killed my mother."

"So you killed them back?" Max's gaze never left Felisanna, until the younger woman actually turned away. "The Clans do that shit, Felisanna. We don't. We're above that."

"Why?" Felisanna shrilled. "Because we're _civilized?_ What's the difference, if we kill them in their 'Mechs or out of their machines? They're just as dead!"

"Stop it!" Sheila silenced her. "You're not going out there, Felisanna, and that's a frigging order. You disobey it, and I'll have you clapped in a straitjacket and tossed into a storage locker on the _Minerva._"

Felisanna balled her fists, and for a moment Sheila braced herself to have a punch thrown at her. Then Felisanna took a deep breath, let her hands drop to her side, and shook her head. "No, you won't," she said quietly. "Because you need someone in that draw, Sheila. Someone—"

"If you say expendable, I'm going to slap the shit out of you."

Felisanna bit her lip, because that was exactly what she was about to say. "Does it matter if it's me or some poor schmuck of a militiaman?"

"Yes. Because I owe your mother a lot more than to watch you throw your life away."

"Sheila, I heard you tell Elfa that you would never order someone to do what you're not willing to do yourself. Well, I'm taking your advice. Don't order some anonymous Kuritan into the breach just because you don't know him." Felisanna reached out and put both hands on Sheila's shoulders, shaking her; Sheila was too stunned to stop her. "Sheila, please. I have a plan."

"So did Custer," Max quipped, though he regretted it instantly.

"No, really. My _Wolfhound's_ missing its arm. I still have my weapons, but the armor's shot all to hell. I could sneak out there tonight, before the moon rises. I'll lay down in the draw, make it look like I went down out there. The Clanners won't even notice me! Oh, sure, they'll do a quick scan--"

"And the minute you power up to use your radio, they'll be on you," Sheila finished.

"No! I'll use a handheld. Even if they shoot at me, I'll have some armor protection. Long enough to jump up and get clear. The Clanners won't have anything behind them, Sheila! I'll circle around and rejoin the garrison from Hikari Ridge. Heck, if the Elementals come that way, I could really do some damage!"

Sheila reached up and gently pushed away Felisanna's arms. "Are you trying to convince me or yourself?"

Felisanna's mouth opened to say something, then closed, and then she regarded her feet with interest. "Please, Sheila. My mother stood in that mine door, all alone, so we'd make it out. I can never make up for what I said to her. I can't…except by doing this."

"Kaatha's not going to feel any better in her rest if you're dead too." Sheila folded her arms. "And what about Bien? He's not going to be too happy about this."

"Bien and I…broke up." Felisanna sighed. "Okay, fine. You're right, Sheila. Just drop it. It was just an idea. I'll forget about it." She turned and began walking down the hill.

Sheila closed her eyes, then spoke. "Felisanna." The other woman stopped. "Tell Mike Vragel to exchange 'Mechs with you, orders from me." She ignored Felisanna's shocked look. "He won't like it, but he'll do it because he's a good MechWarrior. Then tell Nicia to do a full repair on your _Wolfhound_ so Mike doesn't go in with a busted 'Mech tomorrow. The Jaguars won't believe that we've left a basically intact 'Mech out there, but they haven't been salvaging their lost 'Mechs, and Mike has a _Ryoken_." Sheila didn't mention that the reason why the Jaguar techs hadn't been looking for salvage was because the militia had been sniping at anything Clan. Technically, the rules of war prohibited that, but the rules of war had gone out the window when Mary Scott was killed. "After you transmit, the Clanners will be searching for some poor schmuck of a militiaman with a radio. Power up and get the hell out of there. Circle back across Hikari Ridge like you planned. The _Ryoken_ has enough speed and armor for you to make it, and they might just be confused enough for you to get away clean. Okay?"

Felisanna nodded. "Okay." She smiled, the first time Sheila had seen her smile since Kaatha had been killed. "Thanks."

"Don't thank me. Just go."

A little bit of the old Felisanna came back, apparently, for the younger woman threw Sheila a half-assed salute and she scampered down the hill.

"I hope we didn't just help her kill herself," Max said softly, after a long minute.

Sheila reached up and wiped a tear away from the corner of one eye. "One can only die once in a lifetime for one's lord."


	14. Men of Harlech

_AUTHOR'S NOTES: Finally, the last battle begins! I had to break this up into two or three chapters, because there's so much to tell. I felt it was about time that all branches of the Snowbirds get their due, so you'll have a 'Mech fight, an air battle, tank battle, and infantry fight all at once. Figure this chapter as an apertif on the main course, which I'll try and get up this week. I want to get all this done before finals week—next week—and my hopefully upcoming trip to Anime Central, though that last part depends on what my doc says tomorrow. Keeping my fingers crossed on that last part…_

_Also, apologies in advance from the blatant ripoff of _Zulu_ in the middle of this chapter, though it's not really ripping it off if even the characters admit it, is it? That was the whole point of Mimi Stykkis' constant reference to the movie, though, from the second chapter of this story arc. Indeed, _Snowbird's Last Stand_ was inspired by that one sequence of _Zulu_. (I'm not the only one to do this either, as those who have watched _Dog Soldiers_ know.) There's also a very veiled reference to _Neon Genesis Evangelion_ in here too, as well as my _Inu-Yasha _"short story" (i.e. novella) that I wrote a few years back, "The Killers and the Killed." People named Soryu just don't fare well in fanfiction. Oh, and Felisanna gets her "WOLVERINES!" moment here too…though her fate just might be a little different than Robert's in _Red Dawn.

_REVIEWER'S CORNER:_

_Texray: Well, it's got to end sometime, but hopefully it'll be one hell of a ride before it does!_

_Mosin: Yeah, I figured a loopy Senefa acting a bit OOC would break up the tension a bit. We'll see about Furey, though. _

_Panzerfaust: It always seems to me that the Clans always got everything right up until _Lost Destiny,_ but their training doesn't emphasize individual initiative—so I always felt the Inner Sphere had an advantage there. Furey's too much of a romantic, as Mosin says, and his warriors just aren't trained to think for themselves. I wanted to show some of that. (I actually thought Optimai's idea was a good one, and rather Clanlike…but point taken. Be interesting to hear what you think of how things are going down.)_

_SulliMike: Yep, this is it!_

_MUSIC CORNER: "Men of Harlech" from the _Zulu _soundtrack, of course; "Barbarian Horde" from the _Gladiator _soundtrack, and "I Wanna Rock" by Twisted Sister. Why the last? You'll find out._

* * *

_Toriyama_

_Kagoshima, Pesht District, Draconis Combine_

_2 January 3052_

Sheila had tried to sleep, but despite Max's best efforts—their lovemaking had the urgency of two people who were not likely to get another chance—sleep had not come. Instead, they had gotten up, and while Max saw to his lance, Sheila took the opportunity to walk the perimeter, on foot, to check the lines personally. It took her nearly two hours in the cold, but she counted it worth every moment.

There was an air of tough resignation to the defenders, an attitude that they were likely to be overrun, but that they would take as many Smoke Jaguars with them when they went down. Char Furey might win the battle, but he would wreck his unit in the process, and win nothing but a rock of the dead. Sheila did her best to cheer the troops, but there was no help coming and they knew it: the only chance they had was to hold as best they could. The militia, most of whom had spent the night building what was becoming known as Sheila's Wall across the center of the mesa, were exhausted but no less willing to die than their counterparts in the Sun Zhang cadet company, now down to two lances. Sheila learned from Saburo Soryu that the militia had entered as one into a pact not to be taken alive. She wasn't sure what to make of that, but remembered Usagi's words that they came from different cultures.

To her surprise, Sheila found the same attitude among her Snowbirds. Marion Rhialla was her usual self, telling Sheila in no uncertain terms that the Clansman hadn't been born that would get past her lance. Megan O'Reilly's only complaint was that she was down to one cigar. Whatever jitters Maysa Bari had were gone; she told Sheila that she wouldn't leave her post unless given a direct order.

Tessya Blackthorn nearly caused Sheila to jump over the wall, looming out of the darkness in full MechWarrior regalia, but her face, arms, and legs striped in black. "What the hell…" Sheila asked.

"War paint." Tessya held her arms out for inspection. "I hope I got it right. I've never done it before; just watched my dad."

"I thought you wanted us to stop making Indian jokes."

"No joke." Tessya shrugged. "If I have to meet my ancestors tonight, I'm going to look the part."

"I don't like that," Sheila told her. "Everybody keeps thinking they're going to die, that could end up being a self-fufilling prophecy."

"You're right," Tessya replied, in a voice that acknowledged the truth of Sheila's words but left no doubt what Tessya thought the Snowbirds' chances were nonetheless.

* * *

Deciding that there was no point trying to convince Tessya otherwise, Sheila moved on and found Peter Nicholas, leaning against the leg of his _Marauder_ and lighting up a cigarette. "I didn't think you smoked," Sheila said.

"I don't." Nicholas coughed. "Just seemed the thing to do."

Sheila regarded the man for a moment. Aside from the occasional gripe here and there, Nicholas had said very little during the siege. He didn't seem the same man who had promised himself a company before Christmas, or the one who had questioned her authority in the mines on New Caledonia. Unsure of what to say or even if she should say it, Sheila moved on. "If the Jags come through there, I don't know if the tanks can hold them. If that happens, I need you to displace damned fast. OmniMechs will eat Moore's tanks for lunch. Okay?" Inwardly, Sheila wondered what Nicholas would say to that: no MechWarrior liked shepherding tanks.

"You got it," was all Nicholas said.

"All right," Sheila said after a surprised pause. "I'm relying on you, Peter. If the west wall goes, cover the tanks. If the north wall goes, you're going to have to be johnny-on-the-spot to cover Maysa's ass."

A grin broke Nicholas' façade. "That's a nice ass, too. Don't want anything to happen to that." He threw the cigarette away. "Tastes like crap."

Sheila smiled back. "Those things will kill you."

"They'll have to get in line." He nodded to Sheila. "Don't worry, boss lady. I've got this."

Sheila found herself without words, so she put out her hand and Nicholas shook it with a strong grip. With really nothing left to say, she continued her circuit.

* * *

As she approached the _Minerva_, Bien Canonizado caught up to her. "Commander, do you have a moment?"

"Just one, Bien. What's up?"

"Felisanna." Sheila sighed; she had figured that was what Bien wanted to talk about. "She's going out on a suicide mission in that draw."

"Then you'd better talk her out of it. She volunteered."

Bien grabbed her shoulder, then jerked his hand back. "Sorry, Commander…but she can't go out there?"

Sheila turned to him. "Bien, we need some kind of tripwire out there for the Sun Zhang cadets, or they'll be overrun again. Felisanna has a good plan. I'm going to allow her to do it."

"But Commander—"

"Bien." Sheila didn't shout, but her voice was firm. "I've made my decision. And no, you can't go with her. End of discussion." She turned her back on Bien, hating herself for doing so, and entered the _Minerva._ She made her way to the infirmary, figuring that she would run into Rainbow Lapin on the way. She was right. Lapin sat in a collapsible chair at the entrance. "Waiting for me?" Sheila asked.

"Not at all." Lapin got out of the chair and faced Sheila directly. "The Smoke Jaguars will attack soon, won't they?"

"Within the next two hours," Sheila confirmed. "If you want to leave, there's still a chance. As near as we can tell, the south cliffs aren't occupied. You could take shelter in one of the caves."

"The old people and the children would never make it. Not in this cold. And I suspect that if the Clans break through, they'll be hunting everyone down. So we're dead either way. If my village is going to die, we might as well be warm when we do."

Sheila was surprised at that. "It…may not come to that, Miss Lapin. Char Furey has a sense of honor. He'll spare civilians."

"The way he spared your Mary Scott? After you had those prisoners shot?" Lapin snorted. "No, he won't, Commander."

Sheila was suddenly tired of the conversation. "All right then. I assume you'll be staying here?" At Lapin's nod, Sheila said, "If the Jaguars overrun us, get very friendly with the first Clanner to come through the door. He won't spare the wounded, but he might spare you. Or she, as the case may be."

"I'm a little old to use my body," Lapin laughed. It didn't have much humor in it.

"Do whatever it takes." Sheila brushed past her. "Anyway, it won't come to that."

"Why's that?"

Sheila smiled over her shoulder. "I haven't lost a campaign yet."

* * *

She walked into Senefa's room, having visited the other wounded first. Ariel Munroe was gone, having returned to her 'Mech despite Doctor Honma's fears of internal bleeding. The others who were conscious had already armed themselves, determined that if the Clans took the _Minerva_, they would pay in blood there, too.

Senefa was propped up on her pillows. "Did you come to break me out?"

"I wish. Honma says there's no way you can walk right now, and I don't have a 'Mech to give you anyway." Sheila sat on the bed. "Gonna be damn hard to stay alive around here."

"Nonsense. You will beat Furey, quiaff? I will not have my friend lose to a bunch of smelly Smoke Jaguars."

"I'll do my best."

"You do pretty well." Senefa checked the chronometer on the wall. "You had better get going."

"I just got here."

"Aff, and I am fine—aside from my freebirth leg, that is. But you are needed elsewhere."

Sheila knew Senefa was right. "I…" She shrugged. "I don't have the words, Senefa."

"Good, because you are not going to die. And neither am I." Senefa lay back in her pillows, and picked up a dogeared paperback book. Sheila read the title: _Wolves on the Border._ The Clanswoman noticed, and gave Sheila a shrug of her own. "I wish to appreciate another person in an impossible position. I would appreciate it more if I had a weapon of my own." A half-smile tugged at her lips. "Just in case."

Sheila unholstered the revolver and set it on Senefa's bed. "Just in case."

* * *

There was one last stop to make, the _Minerva's_ communications room, where Fred Matria had been every waking moment when he wasn't in his _Chameleon_. It had been fruitless. There had been no communication from House Kurita. "Fred," Sheila said, "I need you on the wall. There's no help coming."

"You never know, Sheila. Something could come in the next minute or two…" His voice trailed off, and he threw down his earphones. "Ah, hell."

"Sorry, Fred."

"Yeah, me too. I wanted to be the settler who sees the cavalry first. Dammit." He got up reluctantly. "You know, I have been able to monitor some of the Smoke Jaguars' radio calls tonight. They're getting sloppy." At Sheila's expression, he smiled wanly. "Don't ask. It was nothing more than a few Jags bitching. There's a lot more chatter, so my guess is they're preparing to attack, but you knew that anyway." He pulled on his cooling vest, then threw a jacket on over it. "Max was up here a few minutes ago. I told him, if you're interested in hearing it."

"Not right now."

Matria was just as happy Sheila didn't want to hear it, considering what the unknown gossipers had said. He switched off the light, made one last look around, and dogged the hatch shut.

Three minutes later, the fax machine abruptly whirred to life.

* * *

Sheila was just climbing into her _Shruiken_ when she heard the radio crackling for her attention. Putting on her helmet, she keyed the mike. "Snowbird Actual." She looked out of the cockpit. The sun was just coloring the horizon, not yet visible but turning the sky a gorgeous purple and pink.

"Snowbird Actual from Falcon Six." Maysa had taken over Senefa's callsign. "Enemy 'Mechs in sight. Looks to be Trinary strength, with Elemental support."

"Roger that. Wolf Six, what do you have?"

"One BattleMech Star, possibly two, Snowbird. I've got at least two Stars of Elementals over here."

That accounted for the Elementals, but Sheila was sure Furey had more than that. She brought her sensors up and scanned the base of the mesa herself. She couldn't see any additional reinforcements. They never had gotten an accurate count of kills, but there had to be more. She knew why: the draw on the northeast corner. "Usagi, heads up. I think enemy 'Mechs are heading your direction, either from the draw or from Hikari Ridge."

"_Hai,_ Snowbird. Nothing yet from our eye in the sky." He referred to Felisanna, whose _Ryoken_ had moved into the draw an hour before.

"Roger that. Keep a lookout." Sheila switched frequencies. "Sultry, you up?"

There was a long pause, then finally d'Sotra's voice came through. "Just took off, Snowbird. ETA ten minutes. Be advised, radar's painted bandits, raid count at least twelve. I think the Jags are going for the full-court press."

"Yeah, no kidding," Sheila replied without keying the mike. When she did, she asked, "Raid ETA?"

"Ten minutes. We should get there about the same time." D'Sotra's voice rose a little. "Sounds like a furball."

"Understood. Do what you can. Good luck." Sheila returned her attention to Jaguars massing at the base of Toriyama. Furey had evidently deduced the Snowbirds were alerted, for he made no attempt at disguising his moves. As she scanned the gathering enemy, Sheila noticed Elfa's battered _Loki_ out of the corner of one eye, and cursed. She had meant to tell Tooriu that if things went bad, to take Elfa and jump into the ocean; both 'Mechs might could survive, and it was better than losing three lives if Elfa went down. It was impossible now, and Sheila wondered briefly if Elfa or Tooriu would obey the order if it was given in any case.

A drum roll drifted across to them, and Sheila cringed at the sound of the Deguello. She looked for the band in Iwakuni, half-tempted to keep her promise to blow up the band with artillery, but they were nowhere to be seen: the music was being broadcast at earsplitting levels by 'Mech loudspeakers. Whenever the music paused, after about two minutes, the Jaguars let out a low snarl as one, a snarl that sent shivers up Sheila's back. She supposed it must be the Jaguar war cry, similar to the terrible screech the Jade Falcons enjoyed using. Then the music started again, ended, and the snarl sounded once more.

Sheila was just thinking about how to respond—if she could respond—to the Jaguar music when the decision was made for her. At first, Sheila didn't recognize the voice, altered by her _Crusader's_ own loudspeakers, then she knew it was Mimi Stykkis. She was singing.

_Men of Harlech, stop your dreaming_

_Can't you see their spear points gleaming_

_See their warrior pennants streaming_

_To this battlefield._

Mimi's somewhat flat voice was joined by Maysa Bari's, who had a voice like an angel. Then others joined in.

_Men of Harlech, stand ye steady_

_It cannot be ever said ye_

_For the battle were not ready_

_Stand and never yield._

Now Toriyama in general began to sing. They had heard the song before; it had been hard not to, since Mimi had been playing the flatscreen constantly. As Sheila listened, she realized that Mimi was altering the words:

_From the hills rebounding_

_Let this war cry sounding_

_Summon all at Sheila's call_

_The mighty foe surrounding._

_Men of Harlech, gone to glory_

_This will ever be your story_

_Keep these burning words before ye_

_Snowbirds never yield._

That was the last verse, but the defenders kept singing it, until it drowned out the Deguello. Eventually, even the Smoke Jaguars stopped to listen. Sheila felt tears on her cheeks, and didn't join in the singing, knowing her voice would break. Finally, the music died away, to leave the battlefield cloaked in silence.

"Mimi," Sheila said over the open channel, "whatever happens…you've just ensured that this battle will live for a thousand years."

A single _Masakari_ stepped from the ranks. It dipped slightly, the arms rotating across its chest in salute, then returned to its own lines.

Which, as one, began to march.

* * *

Nisa Kinosh slapped her thigh in anger, looking through her binoculars. Luckily, the thigh was armored. "Dammit!"

"What is the matter?" Saburo Soryu came up behind her, put his nightscope to his eyes with one hand, and put the other around her waist. She didn't flinch. The two of them had been thrown together and had little time for each other at first—Soryu the Kurita MechWarrior, Kinosh the mercenary infantry leader—but to their surprise, they learned they came from not only the same planet of Algedi, but from towns only a few kilometers from each other. Their friendship had deepened to the point that when Usagi had asked Soryu to give up his _Chameleon_ to the Snowbird Michelangelo Burke, since Soryu would be needed to command the militia, he had readily agreed, because it meant spending more time with Kinosh. They had consummated that relationship hurriedly and frantically, as many had this night; Soryu grimly wondered if, should they survive, how many children would be able to trace their conception to the siege. He and Nisa had completely forgotten about such a possibility in the heat of the moment. Nonetheless, he found himself rather liking the idea.

"We're too far away to do anything!" She glanced around the narrow, flat top of Gateway Rock. From here, she could see everything, except down into the ravine that ran from the Sun Zhang position to the valley, and though her infantry were snug and as safe as they could be in their foxholes hacked out of the mountain, their rifles and grenades could do nothing to influence the battle. Their three mortars were out of ammunition. Sheila had ordered Kinosh to stay on Gateway Rock, just in case, but the latter wondered if it meant they would be the last to fall.

"The battle is just starting. Wait and see what happens." He kissed the nape of her neck, the one part of her that wasn't covered in camouflage or armor. "Be calm. I will return."

"I can't be calm whenever you do _that_," she chided him. "Where are you going?"

"Bathroom. Then to check my radios. I'll be back after that." He left her, crossing the flat top of the karst, and reaching the far side, where the slope fell away in nearly a vertical slope. The Snowbirds infantry and the militia had managed to dig a rough trench set back from the edge, but otherwise no listening posts were placed on the slope itself, since no 'Mech could negotiate it and an armored Elemental would find it nearly impossible as well. Soryu climbed down into a small cul-de-sac, about two meters from the top—no reason to display bodily functions in front of everyone; he still had _some _MechWarrior pride left--and urinated over the side. It felt good to get that out of the way before a battle, and he could see how infantry had an advantage over MechWarriors in that respect—

Something moved in the shadows. He leaned forward slightly, and saw the shape move again, this time unmistakably human-shaped. It was dressed in black, exposed skin heavily camouflaged with paint and limestone dust, and had not the figure moved rather than be urinated upon, he would have never seen it. Casually, despite the pounding of his heart, he finished what he was doing, zipped up, and took a step back, where whoever it was couldn't see him, then put the nightscope up to his eyes, scanning the slope slowly and carefully so as not to attract attention. Now he could see more figures—men and women, their build making them unmistakably Clan Elementals, devoid of their armor and dressed lightly, which surprised him, given the cold air and the sharp outcroppings of karst; on their backs were rifles and submachine guns, and they were using climbing ropes to free-climb the slope.

He had to do something. Two of the Elementals had turned in his direction, and he knew they had seen him; he saw them looking behind, obviously waiting for an order to either kill him or not to kill him. But Soryu was the only one who could see the Elementals: no one atop Gateway Rock was watching the east slope, all attention on the battle developing below them. He was too far away from the top and the Smoke Jaguars too close for him to scramble for the top. Soryu cursed silently, knowing what he had to do but, for the first time in his life, fearing his own death.

Yet Saburo Soryu was samurai.

"_Elementals! Smoke Jaguar Elementals, eastern slope! They're climbing the Rock!"_ he screamed at the top of his lungs. He yelled for all he was worth, and kept yelling even as Elemental Star Captain Optimai and another Elemental leapt into the cul-de-sac with long knives drawn, and stabbed Soryu again and again.

The damage was done. Optimai, even as he cleaned his knife on the dead man's uniform, glanced up to see faces camouflaged like his own staring down at him. A shot rang out and one of the heads snapped back, fountaining blood, but now surprise was most assuredly lost. So be it, he thought. "_Smoke Jaguars!"_ Optimai shouted. _"Over the top! Charge!"_ He grabbed the rock with bleeding, bare hands and threw himself towards the crest and the death he craved.

The Elementals snarled as one and climbed for the top, not meeting any resistance at first, which made some of them wonder if they had achieved surprise after all. That hope died along with three Elementals when they reached the top and were met with gunfire. Kinosh turned and braced her assault rifle on the karst before firing with one hand; with the other, she keyed her mike. "Claw Six to Snowbird Actual! Elementals on Gateway Rock!"

* * *

"And so it begins," Sheila said without keying her own mike. When she did, she radioed back, "Hold on, Claw! I'm sending you some help. Where's Soryu?"

There was a half-second pause. "Soryu's dead."

"Crap." That meant the militia would be leaderless for awhile. No time for that now. "Claw, hold what you can. Break. Dragon Five, Dragon Five, are you on this freq?"

"Dragon Five here, Snowbird." Dragon Five was the actual commander of the Kagoshima militia on Toriyama, a fifty-eight year old man who had last seen combat in the Fourth Succession War. Nonetheless, he knew what to do. "I have a company moving in that direction now, along with my command platoon."

"Roger. Break. Claw Six, militia's on its way."

"Understood, Snowbird!" The sound of rifles bled through the speaker, then machine guns. "We'll stand!" Both women knew the militia would need at least ten minutes to get up the west face of Gateway Rock, which was much easier but still steep.

"I'll send some air support when I can," Sheila replied. Both also knew 'Mech support wouldn't be forthcoming. "Good luck," she signed off, and wondered if she would ever see Nisa Kinosh alive again.

* * *

Marion Rhialla heard the exchange between Sheila and Kinosh and permitted herself a brief growl of frustration. Well, the infantry would have to take care of itself. She picked out Char Furey's _Masakari,_ but it was out of range, so she shifted targets to a _Flashman_ that was just within range. Her _Perennium_ rocked as she fired both Gauss Rifles, but the Jaguar 'Mech dropped back slightly, causing the two silver spheres to fall short, bounce high, and miss the _Flashman_ entirely.

To her left and right, she could see that the other eight Clan 'Mechs were doing the same, moving up to fire on the north wall, or using their range advantage to fire beyond where their Inner Sphere opponents could touch them. Their fire was just effective enough to keep the defenders pinned, while Elementals skipped forward on their jump packs, sniping at the 'Mechs. In theory, the Snowbirds had fire superiority here and even outnumbered the Jaguars, but it wasn't doing them any good. Marion nodded: finally, Furey was fighting smart, because Marion could feel the threat coming from both flanks.

* * *

Felisanna sat in the _Ryoken's_ cockpit, feeling distinctly uncomfortable but strangely satisfied all the same. She was uncomfortable because the _Ryoken_ wasn't quite as roomy as the _Wolfhound_ she was used to, but satisfied because she finally felt like she was accomplishing something. The hole that had existed in her since Kaatha's death wasn't there anymore.

As she watched the Clan 'Mechs approaching up the ravine, moving quickly to lessen their chances of discovery, she was surprised that she wasn't afraid at all. She had gotten scared despite herself in the battle for the southeast corner of Toriyama the day before last, and only Bien knew she had wet herself in the mine on New Caledonia. Yet today, there wasn't even an inkling of fear. She just felt…satisfied, that she had done all she could do and now was the time to fight.

She began counting the Jaguars and was surprised to find there were nine 'Mechs moving up the ravine. She still didn't feel fear, but there was more than a little concern. Only five had been expected. Felisanna did some rapid mental calculation. If there were nine 'Mechs here, and about that on the north slope, and only one Star on the western face…that meant that Furey wasn't making the main effort on the west. He was making it right here.

_Well,_ Felisanna sighed to herself, _that's it, then. Sorry, Bien._ She readied herself, one hand over the switches that would bring her _Ryoken_ to life. She waited, until the waiting was to the point she could barely stand it, until the Jaguars surrounded her. They paid her little attention, only the occasional torso twist in her direction, just to check; Nicia had hurriedly painted Jaguar markings and sigils on the sides of the _Ryoken_, hoping that the hurried armor patches would simulate the spotted gray markings of the Jaguars and trusting the pre-dawn dimness to cover the rest. She had told Felisanna that fighting under false colors, under the rules of war, had traditionally meant that Felisanna could be shot as a spy, but that was hardly a concern right now.

When the vanguard was beyond her, she slapped the switches and gripped the control sticks. The reactor hummed to life, and she felt that brief surge of nausea that told her the _Ryoken_ was using her own equilibrium to balance itself. She pushed back, and the 'Mech rose shakily from its prone position. Instantly, three Jaguar 'Mechs turned in her direction, but they hesitated, Felisanna smiling as she felt she could almost read their thoughts: was this friendly or enemy? It looked friendly, and maybe the MechWarrior had just be unconcious, or maybe it was part of the plan their commanders hadn't bothered sharing with them, damn officers anyhow…

She raised the _Ryoken's_ scarecrow-like arms at the same time she switched on her radio. "Snowbird Actual from Feral Two. Enemy 'Mechs in the ravine, strength nine, repeat, nine 'Mechs. Am engaging. Out."

Felisanna had broadcast in the clear, so everyone had heard that—Sheila, Marion, Usagi, even Kinosh on Gateway Rock fighting for her life, and certainly the Smoke Jaguars. The formation actually halted for a second, stunned at the appearance of the enemy right in the middle of them. The three that were closest raised their arms, but Felisanna picked out a _Guillotine_ and opened fire with everything she had, actually laughing. She switched on her external speakers. "Hey, Jaguars! You wanna _rock?!_"


	15. To the Walls of Toriyama

_AUTHOR'S NOTES: Yep, it's going to be three chapters. This is a huge battle. Now I'm wondering what I'm going to do for the last story arc…it's going to seem pretty anticlimactic._

_I jumped around in this, but what you basically have going on in this chapter is: 1) the fight between David Moore's tanks, Peter Nicholas' lance, and the Smoke Jaguar Elementals, reinforced by Zellos; 2) the fight at the northeast corner, between Miroku Usagi's cadets, Max's lance, and two Stars of Jaguars led by Faye; and 3) Felisanna versus Dougray's Star. I'm skipping around to keep you reading!_

_So as not to give away any surprises, I'll deal with Felisanna next time._

_The part at the beginning of this is based on something I read in David Bellavia's _House to House.

_I'm hoping to get this battle finished before I head off to Anime Central next week, but no promises. _

_REVIEWER'S CORNER:_

_Mosin: Glad you liked it. A little foreshadowing there. As to why all my leader characters are women…that's a good question. I've always liked strong females. Plus they're more fun to draw!_

_Rogue: Here ya go!_

_SulliMike: Yep._

_FraserMage: Yeah, I thought of that, but no, no Wolf's Dragoons here._

_MUSIC CORNER: "Scorponok" from the _Transformers_ soundtrack (don't know anybody who doesn't like that one), "Livin' On a Prayer" by Bon Jovi, and "Bye Bye Beautiful" by Nightwish._

* * *

_Toriyama Village_

_Kagoshima, Pesht District, Draconis Combine_

_2 January 3052_

Elemental Star Commander Meaghan advanced cautiously, despite the armored suit she wore. They were getting desultory fire from the lance of 'Mechs positioned near the promontory at Toriyama's northwest corner, but were masked by the buildings of Toriyama Village. There was no fire coming from there, and that worried her. Two days before, she had seen at least two Ontos tanks there, and probably others as well. The Ontos had acquired a nasty reputation against Elementals, thanks to its thick armor, twin missile launchers, and worst of all, its array of eight medium lasers. They could be overrun—tanks were even more vulnerable to battlearmor than 'Mechs—but it would be very hard. Besides her hatred of Shannon, it had been the fear of the unknown more than anything else that had made Shannon reluctant to assault the quiet village. If it had been her on the defense, she would've turned it into a deathtrap.

They heard explosions and laserfire from the north slope, growing in intensity. "Star Commander, we must attack," one of her Elementals told her.

"I am going to," Meaghan replied, "but I am not marching into that village without some support." She half-hopped over to the nearest 'Mech, Star Captain Zellos' _Ryoken._ "Charlie Three Alpha from Charlie Three Charlie. Can you spearhead us into the village?"

Zellos ducked a PPC bolt aimed at his head. "I will detail two 'Mechs to you, Charlie Three Charlie." _And pray the Snowbirds do not notice,_ he added silently. Quickly, he sent a _Champion_ and a _Hermes_ with Meaghan, while continuing his pinning fire with his own _Ryoken_ and his remaining Starmate, a _Bombardier._ Kess' Elementals were also doing a good job sniping at the lance, but he kept an eye on Meaghan's group. As soon as his opposite number realized he was only facing two Omnis, the village would get rather interesting rather quick.

The _Champion_ led the way, with Meaghan and her Elementals following behind. They crossed the small open space where Toriyama jutted out at its southwest corner, the only place the wall didn't follow the terrain. Now rifle fire began to erupt from the village, but just scattered shots, none of which did more than chip paint; armored Elementals were nearly immune to small arms. Meaghan scanned the village and thanked God that the houses there were one-story affairs—she wouldn't have to worry about grenades being dropped on her heads. A grenade couldn't kill an Elemental without a lot of luck, but they could neatly separate them from a leg. Mines—no, the Spheroids would've planted them outside the walls.

They reached the wall outside of the village, much lower than at other portions of the mesa and mostly bulldozed dirt rather than shingles of karst or packed earth. It was packed against the sides of houses and strewn haphazardly with barbed wire. The _Champion_ easily stepped over it, and Meaghan, not wanting to be picked off if she used her jumpjets, tumbled over the side. There were still rifles being fired at her, but it was actually slackening, and she could see the militia fleeing ahead of her. One of her troopers stopped and braced, and she shouted, "Hold fire!" Each Elemental suit carried a single small laser in the right arm and an underslung light machine gun in the left, but its main antiarmor weapon was the two SRM launchers atop the suit's shoulders. The problem was, two missiles, plus two reloads, was all the suits had, and she wasn't wasting them on unarmored militia. _Where are the tanks?_ she asked herself. There was no way Arla-Vlata had left the village covered only by militia…unless the tanks had been diverted to fend off Dougray's attack. "Charlie Threes," she addressed her unit, "spread out. Do not bunch up, and check the houses. Something is not right." The _Champion_ had stopped, waiting, and she motioned the MechWarrior to hold for a moment. Two PPC shots lanced out over the 'Mech's head, and the _Champion_ swerved to return fire, but that could wait a moment.

Meaghan watched as two of her troopers fetched up against a house to her right. One smashed the wooden door in with an armored boot, then dropped back while his partner leaned around the corner and sprayed the interior with machine gun fire. Switching places again, the Elemental dashed into the house, the battlearmor smashing the doorjambs, then the other followed. Meaghan was just returning her attention to the other team clearing the house to the left, when suddenly the Elemental team to her right stumbled back into the street. "_Get down!"_ one of them yelled. _"Get down! Bomb! Bomb! Bomb!"_ Meaghan didn't question it; she spun and dropped her suit to the ground.

It saved her life. The world outside suddenly dissolved into orange flame as both houses exploded—another of Elfa's dirty tricks. Though she had been short of explosives, the old Toriyama airfield had yielded a great deal of aviation gasoline, and a few old external drop tanks. Those had been placed inside the houses, then packed with plastic explosive, with old car batteries hooked up as crude detonators. When Moore had seen the Elementals beginning their advance up the western slope, he had ordered the militia to open the gas lines inside the houses, then abandon them. When the houses exploded, they not only sent jets of flame shooting across the street and high into the air, but also turned concrete and the rebar inside of them into lethal shrapnel. An unarmored infantry platoon would have been wiped out, but even though all 25 of Meaghan's Elementals were in their suits, four of them died in the twin blasts—one, having been on the doorstep of the house, was sent flying through the air and over the side of the mesa; another dropped with a section of rebar through the faceplate, and two more were wreathed in flames, their occupants screaming as they burned.

As Meaghan had feared, it was just the opening round. Only half of her platoon had been caught by the explosions; the other half were gathered around the legs of the _Champion._ Now it was their turn to be savaged, as Fianna Cassidy and Dennis Dorinson came out of the narrow confines between two other houses, hidden by carefully piled debris and camouflage netting. Once in the street, they turned their turrets to the west and let loose, sixteen ruby beams lashing the street and dropping Elementals wherever they touched. Meaghan got to her feet, only to be blown off of them as missiles began impacting around her—Shasti Buena's SRM carrier and Natasha Tal's Sturmfeur blindly firing from behind the last row of houses two blocks ahead of Meaghan's position.

"Kass!" Meaghan yelled, not bothering with callsigns now. "We need help! We're pinned down—two Ontos, two missile carriers!" Another explosion blew apart half a house next to her, and she saw the squat turret of a Manticore main battle tank coming at her.

* * *

Terrence d'Sotra looked around him as his _Stingray_ moved through the air at half the speed of sound. His radar was on—there was no point in trying to disguise where he was, as the clouds were rapidly clearing, promising a beautiful if cold day. It was a perfect day for flying, and the clouds would provide him some cover.

His radar warning reciever beeped for his attention, and he glanced down. Clan fighters had painted him, but he had figured on that. "Sultry to Birds. I've got a raid count of twelve. Dude, take your section high and right into the clouds, wait for my signal. Break. Sultry to Buster. When this thing starts up, you take it down and pour it on. We're not going to be able to stop all these bastards."

"Roger, Sultry." Well below the Snowbird aerofighters were the twelve Mechbusters of the Kagoshima Militia. They were laden with bombs, and much slower than their defenders and their attackers, but they were also much more manueverable at low level than the Clan fighters. It was their one chance. The lead pilot, a 37-year old named Masashiro Ibuki, scanned the sky nervously. If a Clan Omnifighter fastened itself to his tail, he wouldn't have much of a chance.

* * *

Now Furey was attacking in earnest, Marion noticed. Snowbird fire had started to slacken as ammunition counters ran down; there were no reloads left. She checked her own ammunition counter: eight rounds left for each one of her Gauss Rifles. She too began to back off, waiting for a better shot. As the fire ebbed, Furey sent all three Stars forward at full speed, ignoring the return fire. They sheered off from Marion's lance, with Furey's and Thom's Stars heading for the main part of the wall, while Rally's Star aimed for Maysa's lance, which was already taking occasional Elemental fire from the rear.

Sheila saw that as well, though she kept up her fire; the _Shruiken_ had been designed for this kind of low-supplied battle in mind. She shook her head: the first time they had tried this, the Smoke Jaguars had been just a little bit too concerned for their own survival. Now they were so angered by Toriyama's continued defiance that they would attack until they died. The last time the Snowbirds had Senefa sniping away as well. Without that, the Jaguars reached the north wall without losing a 'Mech.

"All Snowbirds!" she ordered over the open channel. "Concentrate your fire on the top of the wall! Keep it above their heads!"

This was the decisive moment, Sheila thought. The Jaguars had reached their first objective, the wall. Though its shattered remains were not the formidable obstacle it had been, it still provided cover—and that was the key the battle would hinge on. If Furey could motivate his warriors, they would go over the top and be inside the compound. That was a lot to ask, though, even of fresh Clan troops. The temptation was too strong to stay right where they were rather than risk the deadly fusillade that awaited them on the other side.

On the other hand, it now meant the Snowbirds could only fire blindly. The Jaguar 'Mechs were now in the dead space covered by the wall. She was about to order everyone to hold their positions, to let Furey make the next move, when she saw a _Spider_ from the Sun Zhang cadets jump over the top to fire down the line; Sheila recognized the 'Mech as belonging to one of the senior cadets, Aisha Howard. The _Spider_ got off two shots before it disappeared under the concentrated fire of four Clan machines. "Hold your positions, dammit!" she shouted. "Let them come to us!"

"Usagi to Snowbird. Clan 'Mechs to my front, lance strength. I don't think I can hold them." Sheila looked in Usagi's direction. She saw the shape of a _King Crab_ loom over the wall, with a _Black Knight_ behind it. Those two 'Mechs alone nearly outweighed what was left of Usagi's lance.

"Understood. Snowbird Actual to Sasquatch. Max, go help Usagi. Hurry." One part of her mind—Sheila Arla-Vlata—quailed at the thought of sending her husband to plug a gap like he was just a convienent piece of metal. Commander Arla-Vlata smothered that feeling instantly.

"On my way." Max motioned with his _Battlemaster's_ arm and his lance ran to reinforce Usagi. The wall actually physically fell apart: the _King Crab_'s pilot had no desire to step over the parapet and subject himself to return fire. Instead, he blasted away with his heavy autocannons, blasting breaches in the wall. Max's lance began hitting the _King Crab_, but it stepped back long enough for two Clan 'Mechs to charge through: the _Black Knight_ and Faye's _Vulture._ Their sudden appearance caught the defenders by surprise. Faye noticed the hesitation and swung her Gauss Rifles in line with Bien Canonizado's _Victor, _while the _Black Knight _raked Cecilia Masterson's _Zeus._ The _Victor _almost doubled over from one Gauss hit, but the other sliced through armor to find the SRM magazine; the 'Mech shook as if palsied, fired one wild burst from its autocannon, then dropped onto its back with a crash heard around the battlefield. The _Zeus_ somehow survived the fusillade, with great rents in its armor, but Masterson still took a step back, returning fire with the last of her LRMs. "Sasquatch Six! Bien's down, he's not moving!" she shouted at Max.

Max had other problems, for the _King Crab_ was through now. He briefly wondered why he always seemed to end up facing 100-ton monsters, but as he dodged autocannon fire and returned fire with his PPC, Usagi brought his remaining 'Mechs up. The Clan Omnis fell back a little; even with the arrival of a _Champion_ and a _Lancelot_, the last of Faye's Star, they were now facing eleven 'Mechs. It was too much of a mismatch. Faye ordered her Star back behind the scant protection of the wall, abandoning the breaches. "Dougray, get up here!" she yelled. "What's keeping you, in the name of Kerensky!"

* * *

Felisanna heard Masterson's call. _That's it, then_, she thought sadly. Bien was dead now, too. They were all dead. She nodded fiercely: so be it. She would kill as many as she could before they got her. The Snowbirds might fall, but _somebody_ was going to regret coming to Kagoshima.

There were five 'Mechs in front of her: the now-familiar silhouette of a _Mad Cat,_ a giant _Highlander,_ a _Wyvern, _a _Guillotine,_ and a _Flashman._ The _Wyvern_ was lightest: best to concentrate on that. Felisanna opened fire with everything. The _Wyvern_ staggered under the heavy fire, and to Felisanna's surprise, the heat level in her cockpit wasn't too bad. "Neat," she said to no one in particular. "Got to get me one of these." She shifted to one side without thinking, dodging the _Flashman's_ return fire, then let the _Wyvern_ have it again. Felisanna ignored missile fire from the _Guillotine,_ and was surprised to see when the armor held. "Mike, you are _so_ not getting this 'Mech back," she giggled. Felisanna half-expected her laughter to sound hysterical, but it sounded normal. She noticed the _Flashman_ trying to get behind her, and moved out into the ravine. This put her close to the _Wyvern,_ and she pulled back a fist, as if to punch it with the _Ryoken_'s stubby arm. The _Wyvern_ pilot stumbled backwards, afraid to be hit, and Felisanna bared her teeth, knowing she'd get one kill at least. She opened fire with everything again. The 45-tonner opposing her nearly fell, armor blasted from its torso. Its return fire missed, missiles going wide, and she again pressed her advantage. The _Flashman_ missed as well, but then Felisanna saw the _Mad Cat_ raise its arms. "This is it," she sighed. They had already figured out that the OmniMechs belonged to the 17th Regulars' commanders, which meant this guy was good; they were less than 200 meters apart, a range at which even a green cadet could hardly miss at. She wondered why her alarms weren't going off, because surely the Clanner had her locked. Hell, he had her cold.

"Fuck you," she spat in the _Mad Cat's_ direction, then turned her back on it and fired at the hapless _Wyvern_ again. This time it went down, its gyro turned to scrap and its missile ammunition beginning to cook off. She turned and looked contemptously at the Clan commander as lasers and missiles flew in her direction…and missed.

"What the hell?" Felisanna saw the _Highlander,_ which had been heading up the ravine to the mesa, turn and fire a group of LRMs at her. They missed as well. She laughed at them, throwing on her external speakers. "You dumb bastards can't hit a bull in the ass with a bass fiddle! C'mon! _Kill me!_ You killed my father, you killed my mother, come on and _kill me,_ you motherfuckers!" She fired at the _Mad Cat,_ which actually stumbled under the impact of two large lasers.

* * *

Dougray couldn't hear Felisanna over the sounds of gunfire and inside a combat-sealed 'Mech, but he wouldn't have paid attention to her even if he had been able to hear her. He looked at his monitors, then back to his HUD, then back to his monitors, then delivered a savage kick to his instrument panel. The crosshairs projected on his windscreen flickered for a moment, then went back to a neutral red. He managed to keep control of the bucking _Mad Cat_ as it took hits, but he ignored that as well, unable to concentrate on more than a very unfamiliar feeling: fear.

The _Ryoken_ wasn't even there.

It was shooting at him, and his eyes told him it was less than three steps away for his 'Mech—but according to his targeting computer, there was nothing there.

"Delta Charlie Four, Delta Charlie Five—are you seeing this?"

"If by 'seeing this,' you mean the _Ryoken_ that just disappeared off my targeting computer, then aff, I am seeing it!"

That confirmed it, Dougray thought with increasing panic; he was not crazy, and his other Starmates were experiencing it too. Gritting his teeth, he aimed for the _Ryoken_, firing both a salvo of LRMs and PPCs. A few of his LRMs hit, but more by chance than design, impacting on the opposing 'Mech's armor just because it happened to be in the way. The PPC shots went wide. It was if he had lost his sensors, which was tantamount to going blind in a 'Mech—without sensors, it was nearly impossible to hit in a moving BattleMech that itself was being hit.

For the first time in his life, Dougray was at a loss on what to do. Nothing in his training or experience had ever prepared him for fighting a ghost.

His mind began working again when the _Ryoken,_ seemingly emboldened, advanced and began shooting him. "Delta Charlies Four and Five, advance to the wall, reinforce Faye. Delta Charlie Two, stay with me. We must finish this one."

Delta Charlie Two, the _Highlander_ pilot, opened his mouth to question why the two heaviest 'Mechs should have to deal with one _Ryoken_, especially one that nobody could hit. But he didn't question the orders. Delta Charlies Four and Five, the _Guillotine_ and the _Flashman,_ were all too happy to get back into fighting opponents their computers told them were there.

"All right, then," Dougray mused as he dodged more incoming fire, "let us play this game out."

* * *

Now reinforced—though Faye decided to not hear the Delta Charlies' stories of fighting a phantom 'Mech—she ordered her unit back into the fray. From the sound of things, she was the only one who had achieved a solid breakthrough. She led her now eight-strong ersatz Stars through the breaches against Max and Usagi's eleven.

Max fought down his fear and held the line, grabbing a 'Mech arm that had been blown off of James Mabin's _Thunderbolt_ and using it as a crude club. He backhanded the _Lancelot_ with it, sending it spinning back into the wall and smashing the arm to bits, then turned and faced the _Black Knight_ which ripped into his torso armor with laserfire. It thrust its PPC forward at him, but he slapped it aside, putting his own PPC to the _Black Knight's_ chest and fired. It left a smoking hole in the chest armor, not nearly enough to punch through but enough to put the Jaguar on the defensive.

Elfa had formed a composite lance from herself, Michael Vragel—now piloting Felisanna's repaired _Wolfhound_—Megan O'Reilly, and Marcus Drax, who had wandered over from Tessya's lance on the south wall because he was bored sniping at Elementals. Seeing Max's lance and the Sun Zhang cadets forced back, Elfa yelled, "Follow me!" She ignored a sudden pain from her middle—_don't be born now,_ she told her babies, _Mommy has to go to work—_and charged into the fray.

* * *

David Moore watched from the open hatch of his Pegasus. The ambush had worked, but not as well as he had hoped—the Elementals had advanced carefully, not headlong. He was up against a professional, and moreover, the _Champion_ was turning its attention to Fianna Cassidy's Ontos—as heavy as the Ontos was, even its armor wouldn't last long against a 'Mech.

"Claw Six, Wolf Six," Peter Nicholas radioed. "You've got about twenty Elementals coming in on your right flank. I can't stop 'em all."

Moore swung around and saw at least a dozen Elementals riding jumpjets over the crest of the mesa, aiming for the town. One was swatted from the air as Maria Thyatis picked it off with a PPC from her _Wolverine_, but the suits were just too small for Nicholas' lance to gun down. "Bunny Six from Claw! You've got Elementals, right flank! Displace now and stop 'em!"

"On it!" Cassidy replied, and her Ontos groaned as its tracks spun, backing out of the street, turning to engage the new threat. Moore saw missile trails reach out from two Elementals and hit Henri Fromage's Von Luckner heavy tank. Pieces of road wheel and track link went flying into the air, and the already slow Von Luckner shuddered to a halt: the Elementals had blown off the track. Moore cursed and keyed his radio. "Henri, get out of there! Those Elementals will be all over you in a second!"

"_Non,_ Claw Six! We cannot move—we'll make a pillbox!"

"Abandon the tank! _Now!"_ If they had been facing only 'Mechs, Moore might have let Fromage and his crew remain in the tank. With Elementals, they would lase off the hatches and fire machine guns down in them. Moore watched through his binoculars as the hatches popped open and the crew bailed out, firing one last volley from the Von Luckner's missiles and main gun before they did. Fromage was last, and he suddenly fell from the turret—either accidentally or because he had been hit. The tank's armor was sparking with bullet impacts. "Otohime! Cover Fromage's tankers!" Moore shouted. A fringe of militia appeared on the roof of a nearby house—Rainbow Lapin's—and opened fire with a heavy machine gun, covering the escaping tank crew. Moore saw Fromage being dragged out of sight.

* * *

Once she had landed, Kass ordered her nineteen remaining Elementals to fan out as well as missiles began to impact around them. A machine gun opened up on her, and she fired her remaining missiles at it, tearing the roof off the house and silencing the gun. One of her troopers screamed as laserfire knocked her down; another one was sent cartwheeling backwards from the impact of missiles. "Freebirth!" she shouted. "Meaghan! We've an Ontos over here with a Manticore!"

Meaghan flinched as a missile shot starred her faceplate. She looked at the _Champion,_ which had driven off one Ontos, but was taking steady hits from something that looked like a Partisan antiaircraft tank, but had bigger guns. She opened her mouth to order the MechWarrior to forget the damned AA tank and engage the Manticore when the 'Mech suddenly was wreathed in fire and dropped, crushing a house beneath its 60-ton weight. Meaghan glanced over and saw to her horror the hunched over profile of a _Marauder._ "Zellos!" she shouted. "For God's sake get up here or we are all dead!"

* * *

At the same moment, Cassidy ordered her driver to back up. Her gunner was slewing the turret left and right, the octuple medium lasers hitting Elementals left and right, but the Jaguars had evidently found out that the Ontos could only engage one or two targets at a time and were beginning to swarm her. "Claw Six from Bunny! We're about to lose this flank!" Her Ontos shuddered with more hits, much harder than the Elementals' light lasers and missiles. She moved her commander's sight left and saw a _Bombardier_ aiming straight for her.

The _Bombardier_ reared back to bracket Cassidy's Ontos with more hits when it itself staggered with three PPC hits. The Jaguar MechWarrior turned to face Thyatis' _Wolverine_ and Troms Fiordur's _Warhammer_. Knowing he was at a severe disadvantage, he let loose a volley of missiles, then stepped back to the edge of the village, calling for help. There wasn't any. The _Bombardier_ shook with more hits as the Snowbird 'Mechs pressed their advantage, the Jaguar trying to fall back—his machine was meant for long-range slugging, not for a slugging match. He took one step too many and his 'Mech's left foot suddenly came down on open air. The _Bombardier's_ arms windmilled crazily for a moment, then it disappeared over the edge of the mesa, crashing and tumbling down the slope. Fiordur stepped up and finished it off with two PPC shots.

The _Champion_ pocked Nicholas' _Marauder_ with its autocannon, but he might as well not have bothered. Nicholas, trusting to his armor, merely stood his ground, aimed, and blew off the _Champion's_ other leg. Seeing a few missiles spiraling in at him, he shifted his attention to the Elementals still menacing the right flank; as long as he kept them at bay, they were no threat to him. He paid no attention to the _Champion's_ SRM spread, deeming the pilot no longer a threat.

Kentaro Otohime, commanding the militia company in the village, felt differently. Seeing Meaghan's Elementals pinned down by Dorinson's Ontos and Shaw's Hawkslayer, he ordered his remaining machine gun to keep up its fire and raced down the stairs, ordering eight of his militiamen to follow him. They ran across a now-rubble strewn street, trying to ignore the machine gun fire from the Elementals, and scrambled up the side of the downed _Champion,_ yelling at Moore over the net to cease fire on the 'Mech. The armored sides of the machine were hot to the touch, but they reached the side hatch of the cockpit. Quickly, Otohime attached his last bit of plastic explosive to the lock, leapt atop the 'Mech's canopy, and winced as the explosive blew the lock off. One of his men forced open the hatch with his rifle; the Jaguar MechWarrior inside turned at the sound and began raising his hands, but the militia was not taking prisoners today; no one was. They threw two grenades into the cockpit and slammed the hatch, the canopy shattering with the explosion. The militia troops let out a "_Banzai!"_ to celebrate their victory, but it was short lived.

Otohime caught movement to the left. "In Buddha's name! Jump! _Jump!"_ he yelled at his men, and tumbled off one side of the _Champion._ The other eight men hesitated, fatally. A _Hermes_ sprinted past the abandoned Von Luckner, raising its left arm, which held a flamethrower. It splashed napalm across the fallen 'Mech, turning men into screaming torches, then turned its attention to the machine gun crew. In seconds, that crew was also dead and Lapin's house afire. Dodging Dorinson's LRM fire, it ran forward, and Dorinson hurriedly backed the Ontos up; only a snap-shot from Michelangelo Burke's _Chameleon_ saved the tank from a fiery fate. Though the Ontos outweighed the _Hermes_ by nearly sixty tons, the flamethrower would cook the crew inside of it in moments. Nicholas turned to engage the light 'Mech and found himself facing Zellos' _Ryoken._ "Claw Six, Wolf Six! Get your tanks out of the village!" With Otohime's remaining militia now fleeing for real rather than face death by fire, the Elementals were rallying and would overrun the tanks. The _Marauder_ shook under laserfire. "You want a piece of me, bastard?" Nicholas shouted at the _Ryoken_. "I'll give you a piece!" He fired back both PPCs.

* * *

Moore ducked as his gunner sent two flights of SRMs at the advancing Elementals. He was now at the final row of houses, his tanks pulling back to form a new line. Otohime was missing, probably dead, and his second in command successfully got the militia to take up new positions in the houses. He took a quick look over at the left flank, which was basically in the air, but the Elementals weren't heading in that direction, veering off under laser fire from Tessya Blackthorn's Alpha Recon. Unfortunately, Moore couldn't count on any other help from Blackthorn, whose light 'Mechs would be at a severe disadvantage against Elementals and couldn't close in.

The Jaguars had taken the village, but with the two Ontoses back in place and supported by the two missile carriers again, they weren't making much headway. The single _Ryoken_ was engaging Nicholas' _Marauder_, while Thyatis and Fiordur had pulled back to help the tanks. An explosion showered him with dirt, and, coughing, Moore saw that his line was nearly back to back with Maysa Bari's and Marion Rhialla's lances on the north wall. "It's getting a bit sporty," he commented to no one in particular.

An Elemental darted out and skidded to a halt, aiming its SRM pack at Moore's light Pegasus. Before Moore could drop back down into the interior, the Elemental was torn apart by missiles. Johnston hadn't gotten her Manticore back to the line quite yet. Her treads squealed loud enough to be heard over the din of battle; a Jaguar had gotten close enough to blow off two road wheels, and the Manticore was manuevering only by fits and starts, the driver afraid of losing a track.

The turret suddenly trained left, and Moore saw the _Hermes_—which had somehow managed to remain hidden in the smoke and dust—coming right at the Manticore. The PPC fired along with the battery of missiles at the rear of the turret, but the light 'Mech was simply too fast. It fired two medium laser shots into the turrret armor, then set the Manticore on fire. The tank shuddered to a stop, the _Hermes_ ignored Moore's SRMs and let fly again, then raced back into the village as Thyatis jumped forward to attack. Moore slammed his fist against the armor of his hovertank as he saw the hatches open on the Manticore and Johnston's crew begin to abandon it before the flames took hold. Black smoke boiled from the engine, which meant the tank was out of action anyway. "That fucking _Hermes_ is killing us," he cursed.

As if summoned, the _Hermes_ appeared on his left flank, having raced through the village to reappear there, near Natasha Tal's Sturmfeur. Moore stood up in the hatch, yelling and screaming curses, because the _Hermes_ pilot once more had chosen his quarry carefully: the Sturmfeur, like the Ontoses, was heavy and heavily armored, but it too would burn if set afire, and its primary armament was long-range missiles—and the enemy 'Mech was already inside the minimum range for those.

But the _Hermes_ MechWarrior had pushed his luck too far, gotten a little too overconfident. He had spotted Blackthorn's lights, too far off, and had dodged Shasti Buena's SRM carrier fire, but didn't see where Michelangelo Burke had carefully hidden his _Chameleon_ in the ruins of Rainbow's village. Now he stood up, squarely behind the light 'Mech, and unloaded. The _Chameleon_ was a training 'Mech, not meant for this sort of combat, but with Burke only 90 meters behind the _Hermes_, its weaponry was devastating. Lasers boiled away rear armor, but it was the medium 'Mech's machine guns that did the most damage. Bullets chewed into reactor plating, the _Hermes_ sagged, then fell to the ground in a heap as the reactor shut down rather than explode. With Elementals crowding around, Burke triggered his jumpjets and landed behind the tank. Tal, growling in Hebrew, ordered her driver to gun the Sturmfeur forward. The 95-ton tank ponderously moved, but it was still too fast for the _Hermes_ pilot, who died when the Sturmfeur crushed the 'Mech's head: Tal's object lesson as to why MechWarriors shouldn't burn tanks. With the way clear, Moore ordered his tanks to fall back to the middle wall while they still could. "Claw Six to Wolf Six!" he shouted at Nicholas. "We're leaving!"

"Go ahead!" Nicholas replied. "I'll be along as soon as I deal with this sonsabitching _Ryoken!_ Wolf Lance! Fall back and cover the tanks!"

"What about you?" Thyatis asked.

"I'm fine! Go!" Nicholas slapped an override as his heat levels reached danger zones. It was now a slugging match to see who could deal the most damage. He grinned even as a secondary monitor popped and went out, overheated. This was what he wanted all along: single combat, and the glory went with it. The hell with Toriyama; life was no sweeter than this.


	16. To the Death

_AUTHOR'S NOTES: Whew! Sorry about the wait, but as I was trying to finish this in time for Anime Central, a storm brewed up and did some damage to my house. By the time I was able to fix that up, it was time to go on vacation, and I was gone to ACen for a week. I didn't think I'd have the energy for awhile to finish this, with summer semester cranking up, but strangely enough, two viewings of the new _Star Trek_ movie inspired me to hit the keyboard again in my rapidly diminishing spare time. (BTW, if you haven't seen the new _Star Trek, _go NOW. It is really excellent.) Now it's really late and I feel like I've run a marathon…and I still need to move some furniture…_

_So this is the last chapter of the Battle of Toriyama. Finally! I hope it was worth the wait and the now book-length of this story arc. Just one more chapter to finish out the arc, and we're done with this one…and then it's on to the very last (sort of) chapter of the whole Snowbird saga, _Snowbird Triumphant. _I hope, anyway. _

_I couldn't help but borrow a bit from _Star Wars' _trench sequence and once more from David Bellavia's _House to House.

_REVIEWER'S CORNER:_

_SulliMike: What's that? Leave? Not gonna happen! (It's not called a "last stand" for nothing, y'know.)_

_FraserMage: Mmm…could be! (Why should Michael Stackpole have all the fun?) I hope that's not too crazy…_

_Rogue: Thanks. I was definitely hauling out the Bon Jovi for this story._

_Texray: That's my intention. If it's reading like a movie, I'm doing my job._

_Mosin: Hopefully this chapter is as good as the last. Though it's Peter Nicholas in the _Marauder; _Moore's got a Pegasus._

_Bien: No problem. Hope you're feeling better now. I'd be interested what you think about Felisanna, and the fate of "your" character._

_Jayson: Thanks for the really long review! I'm glad you like the story, though I'm sorry I deprived you of sleep (though that's one of the highest praises an author can get, IMHO). Maysa is indeed in for some thought, if she survives this; the decision to marry Dan was made in the heat of the moment, but they're both young people in an impossible situation. We'll see how it works out. As for Sheila, it's okay if you disagree with her. Sheila's not perfect. I've tried to make her as little Mary Sue-ish as possible. She's made mistakes, but that's how people grow, and really this whole story/saga is about Sheila growing from a snot-nosed teenage MechWarrior into an adult commander in every sense of the word. I won't guarantee a happy ending for Maysa and Dan, and the person who killed Mary Scott (it wasn't an Elemental; it was Dougray) will indeed get his. I wish Catalyst could make this a campaign, but I doubt that'll ever happen. Still, one can hope…_

_MUSIC CORNER: "The Battle of Yavin" from _Star Wars, _"The Battle of Hoth" from _The Empire Strikes Back _(of course), "Warriors of Faith" by Hammerfall, and "Kingslayer" by Nightwish. (I think this chapter deserves four songs!)_

* * *

_Toriyama _

_Kagoshima, Pesht District, Draconis Combine_

_2 January 3052_

"Fighters coming down! Here we go!"

Terrence d'Sotra would never know which of his nine pilots said it, but the air battle now began to complement the hell on the ground. The Clan fighters were nearly on top of him, gaining the precious advantage of altitude, and there was nothing he could do about it—normally he would've grabbed for altitude the moment he took off, but he had to cover the Mechbusters.

The thirteen Clan Omnifighters peeled off and dove in sections like hawks onto prey. He was outnumbered and outgunned, but he had to climb into them now. Almost instantly, lasers and blue PPC fire lanced around him. D'Sotra gritted his teeth and prayed his forward armor would hold against any hits. Two precious seconds went by before he could return the fire with his own weapons, once they were in range.

The two groups of fighters reached each other in seconds at a combined speed of twice that of sound. This was what fighter pilots called the merge, when ranges closed to within mere meters. The pilots of both sides began to twist and turn, to get on each other's tails, and the killing soon began.

Ibuki saw the merge and knew some of the Clan fighters would break through. "Eagles from Lead. Defensive split, Ohka formation—go now!"

The dozen Mechbusters split into four sections of three: Red, Blue, Green, and Orange. Each would make their approach from a different point of the compass at varying intervals, their formation resembling that of an _ohka_—a falling cherry blossom. While the three-aircraft vee was unwieldy compared to the four-aircraft fighting wing, it meant that at least some of the Mechbusters might live long enough to make their weapon runs. The three pilots of Eagle Green section figured they were the luckiest: led by the oldest man in the squadron, Kentaro Miho, they began their attack immediately, aiming for where the smoke was thickest.

* * *

Sheila had heard David Moore give the order for his tanks to fall back. In her mind she saw a map of Toriyama: the loss of the village meant that the north wall was flanked, and Moore's tanks would be hard pressed to hold off the Elementals, much less any 'Mechs that might have broken through. Maysa's and Marrion's lances could be taken from behind and the line rolled up west to east, assuming that Furey didn't find a way to break the line in the very center. It was time to play her last card, the Snowbirds' last stand.

"Falcon and Wolf Lances, fall back to the middle wall! Tiger Lance, hold fast—you're the hinge! Box Lance, move up and support!"

At that moment, Furey's two Stars finally surged through the north wall, and Rally's Star broke through between Maysa and Marrion.

* * *

Star Captain Kikki held back her throttle and didn't bother dodging the LRM fire that peppered her _Rapier_ from a passing _Lucifer._ Out of the corner of one eye, she spotted another of her Trinary's _Hellcats_ drive off the Inner Sphere fighter, and so continued her dive. She ignored a call from Star Captain Michaels asking where she was going, because she had realized that the Inner Sphere aerofighters were merely a diversion: the real threat lay in the lowly Mechbusters. No fighter aircraft could turn and climb like the Snowbird fighters were doing, which meant they were running clean: the Mechbusters, then, were the main threat to the Clan MechWarriors. While Kikki didn't think very highly of the ground-pounders, the battle would be won or lost by them, and her duty was to help.

She pulled out of the dive and ended up behind the rear section of the Mechbusters. Kikki lined up the gigantic autocannon that lay along the _Rapier's_ spine and opened fire, hammering the leftmost Mechbuster's right wing. The aircraft shuddered, dipped slightly, then the entire wing disappeared as the bombs were touched off. The Mechbuster disintegrated and fell into Toriyama Bay. Kikki then rolled the _Rapier_ to kill some of her airspeed—she was faster than the Mechbusters, despite being much heavier—and opened fire again, the AC/20 sawing off the tail section of the next aircraft. The pilot tried vainly for altitude, but the Mechbuster stalled, pitched end over end, and followed its wingmate into the water. Kikki slammed her throttle forward and nosed down, picking up airspeed, although it meant that the lead Mechbuster would get away. "Bobcat Two, take him!" she ordered her wingman, who had gotten separated in the merge, but was now coming down in his own _Rapier._

Yet Kentaro Miho was a veteran, unlike his two wingmen had been. He waited until the _Rapier_ had settled into the kill position, then suddenly dropped his flaps and raised his nose. The Clan fighter pilot saw the flaps drop and instinctively did the same, chopping his throttle back. He had miscalculated: the Mechbuster was designed for fighting in atmosphere, but the _Rapier_ was intended for space combat. The Clan fighter stalled, fell out of the air, and Bobcat Two was unable to recover before the _Rapier_ crashed into the sea with a hiss of foam.

Miho forced his nose back down and the throttle forward, now close enough to Toriyama to see 'Mechs advancing up the west slope—they had to be Clan. He began to position himself for a run, then saw the other _Rapier_ drop in behind him; Kikki had climbed, rolled in a high-speed yo-yo, and dropped behind him again. He knew to break off was to die, but staying on his attack run was equally suicidal. He shrugged and keyed his radio. "Eagle Lead from Eagle Seven. Lost Takiro, lost Hoshi. Got a Clanner on me tight. _Banzai!"_

Ibuki closed his eyes a moment as he swept around Toriyama in a wide arc from the south. He saw the Mechbuster get hit and flame, but Miho never deviated from his run, aiming for a Clan 'Mech. The nose of the pursuing _Rapier_ disappeared in smoke as its pilot fired everything she had. The Mechbuster of Kentaro Miho vanished in a towering explosion, and the remains of the aircraft crashed into the side of the mesa, just short of his intended target, the crowd of Elementals still trying to break out of Rainbow's village.

"Eagle Lead, break right!"

Ibuki's feet and hands were moving before his brain completely processed the order. It saved his life: the Mechbuster was buffeted by autocannon shells so huge Ibuki could actually see them. A quick glance behind him revealed his attacker: a _Hammerhead_ heavy fighter. It had only one weapon, but that one weapon was an AC/20 that could destroy his aircraft with one hit. Ibuki climbed, but the _Hammerhead_ easily kept pace, its pilot intent on lining him up for the kill shot.

The Smoke Jaguar was too intent, in fact. He never saw Cinda Scampton's _Stuka _come up behind the twin-tailed Clan fighter's blind spot. Smoke streamed from the _Stuka's _nose as Scampton fired all 20 tubes of her LRM-20, then her wings sparkled with fire from all four large lasers. The _Hammerhead_ somersaulted end over end as it was hit, then flew into pieces as the airframe was stressed beyond the breaking point.

* * *

The Elementals on Gateway Rock came in two waves, screaming and hissing like their Clan's namesake. Kinosh wiped away the tears from her eyes and fired into them, even as bullets chewed up the karst around her. Two Elementals got over the loose wall in front of her positions and leapt into a foxhole with one of her two machine guns. Knives flashed in the early dawn as they killed the crew, but as one Clansman reared up, Kinosh raised her Rorynex, aimed, and killed the man with a single shot between the eyes. Someone else threw a grenade and killed the other one. A third Elemental burst from her left side, rolling over the wall, then rolled to his feet and actually ran past her, cradling his assault rifle like a baby. Kinosh fired and missed, but three militia behind her didn't. The Elemental screamed in pain as bullets perforated him, then fell off the sheer north face of the rock to impact far below.

Kinosh spotted Elementals moving now to her right side, pouring through the gap left by the dead machine gun crew, but like the other one, they didn't stop—merely charged down the slope behind her. Kinosh cursed, knowing she hadn't defended in depth, but had thrown what troops she had at the top of the Rock, assuming that no one would be crazy enough to try the east face, and if they were, she'd hear the clank of their battlearmor long before they got close enough. Now the Jaguars had done the unexpected, and while the Elementals would be a lot easier to kill outside their armor, they would also be a lot more mobile. "Snowbird Actual from Claw Six! My right flank is gone—Elementals are heading for the DropShips! Heads up!"

She never knew if Sheila heard her, for Kinosh felt a sharp pain in her left elbow and a crack sounded in her right ear like a whip. She fell, clutching the side of her head, remembering that she had taken her helmet off when she and Soryu had decided to make hurried love in her foxhole. A huge shape loomed over her for a moment, but was just as quickly gone into the darkness. Kinosh shook her head. Everything felt fuzzy and every sound was muzzled, as if from far away.

She spit dust from her lips, cursed herself, then raised up again. There was blood on her sleeve, but the elbow only throbbed a little. She was still in the fight, and she was a Snowbird, dammit. She raised the Rorynex again, fired a stream of tracers at more shadows coming over the wall, then the magazine fell from the submachine gun—it was empty. She fished in her pouches for another, pulled it out, and loaded it quickly, her fingers and mind telling her it was her last.

* * *

The wall fell inward under the weight of Char Furey's and Thom's eight 'Mechs. Unable to get over the wall because of the fierce return fire, Furey had simply ordered his warriors to fire at the wall itself. It finally fell apart, though not all at once: openings appeared, allowing the Jaguars to surge through in small groups.

Max heard someone yell out that the north wall was in trouble, but he was having enough problems where he was: though impossibly Felisanna was apparently still alive and fighting in the defile, enough had gotten past to reinforce the initial attackers, and now they too broke through the gaps.

A _Guillotine _and a _Flashman_ came straight at Max. He lunged at the _Guillotine_, bringing his PPC to bear, but the Clansman fired first, his large laser shearing off a length of armor. Max's PPC spluttered and died, and now the _Flashman_ was positioning to attack: obviously honor rules had gone out the window, and now the Jaguars simply wanted to put blood on the walls. He ducked under the _Flashman's_ concentrated laserfire, raked it with medium lasers, then winced as a thin ruby beam from the _Fenris_ etched a scar down the _Battlemaster's_ left cheek. One more hit like that would breach his head armor and probably kill him.

Max shouted a horrible oath and smashed the _Fenris_ in the face, using the wrecked PPC as a mace. The Smoke Jaguar MechWarrior, stunned by the sudden hit, stumbled backwards into Charles Badaxe's _Atlas._ He turned and blew it in half with the last of his autocannon rounds without much apparent effort.

The _Flashman_ was still on him, though. Deciding that one good tactic deserved another try, Max feinted left at the _Flashman_, dodged right as three large lasers turned the ground where he had once stood to glass, and hit the Jaguar with the PPC, which finally fell apart, but not before it crushed chest armor plate. Max then held down both triggers, sending medium lasers tearing into the bulbous 'Mech's chest, and following it with a flight of missiles. The _Flashman_ now was the one to fall back, smoke streaming from holes in its middle, glowing with heat.

* * *

Eagle Blue Section was next to make its attack, from the north. It was the toughest approach, and Blue Section's leader, Takuya Hyakuri, knew he would only have a split-second to fire as he came over Gateway Rock. "Snowbird Actual from Eagle Four. Can you mark your lines?"

Sheila was too busy trying to stay alive to answer, but Maysa Bari had a better view in any case. "Eagles, hit everything north of the wall!" she yelled.

"Roger that, making our run now."

The three Mechbusters shifted slightly and sped in, hoping their thin armor would at least protect them from stray fire from below. "Eagle Three, watch it, two Clanners behind you!" someone yelled, but it was too late to worry about that now: Hyakuri had to keep it level if his bombs were to hit anything. He heard another shout and scream; in the corner of one eye he saw Eagle Five explode under the fire of yet another Clan _Rapier._ Then the _Rapier_ itself came under attack from Karl Baum's _Lucifer_, and climbed hard, the Inner Sphere fighter right behind him. The _Rapier_ started to smoke from the impact of missiles.

Eagle Four dropped his bombs and broke away, too soon: the bombs showered the gully where Felisanna still fought her lonely battle with broken rock and dust, but did no damage. Hyakuri growled at no one in particular and held steady, lining up his target: a _Flashman _BattleMech advancing on the north wall. A Clan _Zero_ now dropped in behind him, and Hyakuri cursed, knowing he was a dead man.

Laserfire flurried past him—from the front. Hyakuri instinctively ducked as a _Stingray_ suddenly appeared directly in front of him, firing its lasers and nose-mounted PPC. Vincent dal-Windas had been stalking the _Zero_ from low-level, and now showed why his nickname was Nut. He flashed over the Mechbuster barely two meters above Hyakuri's canopy, sent the _Zero_ spiralling downwards with a shattered nose, and climbed hard, dal-Windas howling in triumph and throwing in a victory roll.

Hyakuri didn't question his sudden salvation. In a split-second, he fired the Mechbuster's cannon and released his bombs. The _Flashman_ twisted around with the impact, then disintegrated under the impact of all four bombs.

* * *

Kinosh heard a yell to her right and twisted in that direction, firing off a quick three-shot burst. She couldn't tell if she hit anything or not.

A grenade suddenly spun out of the darkness and landed at her feet. _Oh shit_, her mind screamed, and Kinosh scooped it up and threw it back. It detonated while still in the air, far enough away to miss her with its shrapnel, but still enough to nearly blind her with the flash. Kinosh blinked, trying to get back her vision, when a shadow came at her, rifle raised. She fired from the hip, knowing the shot would miss. To her surprise, the shadow spun around and dropped only a pace away. It stirred weakly, so Kinosh stepped forward to smash the stock of her Rorynex into the Elemental's head—someone that size had to be an Elemental, she thought.

Without warning, the Elemental rocketed a ham-sized fist into her jaw. Stars exploded in Kinosh's eyes and she felt a tooth shatter under the impact, then was sent flying backwards by another punch. Woozily, she looked up and saw the Elemental drop his rifle and raise a wicked, blood-slicked knife. Desperately, she scrabbled for her Rorynex, but it was gone. Her fingers closed around a rock and she threw that, catching the Elemental in the side of the head.

A red haze of fury settled around her. Screaming obscenties, Kinosh leapt to her feet, snatched off her helmet, and smashed the Elemental in the face, causing him to drop the knife. She then grabbed his face and buried it in her chest, trapping him, and began beating the shaved head of the Smoke Jaguar viciously with her helmet. Absently, she noticed rank tabs on the man's shoulders; whoever this person was, he was a high-ranking officer, maybe a Star Captain, and from the nametape on his tunic, his name was Optimai. That somehow only fed her rage, and she continued to smash the Elemental in the head, even as blood flew upwards, and slammed her knee into his groin.

With a burst of desperate energy, Optimai got an arm loose and punched her in the cheek. "Let go, freebirth!" he shouted.

"Shut the fuck up and die!" Kinosh shouted back.

His next punch struck her in the jaw, sending a jet of blinding pain into her brain. She staggered and nearly fell, and the Elemental broke free. He seized a handful of Kinosh's hair and tried to punch her again, but she reached up and fastened her hands around his thick throat. Kinosh screamed in his face in several languages, her throat raw, though she could barely hear herself or his answering curses.

Optimai's arms snaked up and broke the choke hold, knocking her arms aside and then shoving her to the ground. He reached down to grab his fallen rifle, but Kinosh, with an inhuman snarl, leapt to her feet, punched him in the stomach. As he folded up from the unexpected blow, she seized him by the ear with one hand and drove her fingers into his eyes with the other. Optimai howled in pain, and slammed a fist into Kinosh's chest. Her collarbone splintered under the blow, and he landed another shot to her jaw, sending fresh blood spraying across the stones.

Optimai reached up and smeared blood away from his eyes. His teeth were bared, and all he cared about now was killing this diminutive fury at his feet. A rifle was too easy, too quick. Kinosh groaned and gathered her hands underneath her, so he kicked her in the side, hearing a rib crack even over the din of battle. He searched for his knife, couldn't see it, and so bent down, chest heaving with exertion, every nerve ending screaming with pain. He grabbed her skinny throat with his hands and rolled her over, wanting nothing more than to watch her eyes bulge as he squeezed the life from her.

A sharp pain erupted in his chest, and Optimai looked down in surprise. A knife, _his _knife, was buried in his chest. Kinosh hissed, "For my Soryu," pulled the knife free, and rammed it home beneath his jaw. Optimai was dead before he hit the ground, the death he had wanted for so long finally his.

* * *

Sheila waited as Furey's command Star came through the wall. On either side of her _Shruiken_ stood Kahvi's _Dragon_, Fred Matria's _Chameleon, _and Marcus Drax's _Phoenix Hawk; _Sheila had no idea where Drax had come from, but he had already been hit several times. A _Fenris_ charged him. Drax got in a good shot to the Clan 'Mech's side, but the return PPC fire sheared off his _Phoenix Hawk's_ left leg at the ankle. Drax jammed the stump of the leg into the ground and threw out his left arm for balance, but then the _Fenris_ blew off his right arm, taking the large laser with it, then sent more lasers into the 'Mech's chest. Armor bubbled and sloughed off. Thinking him finished, the _Fenris_ turned, but with a primal howl, Drax threw his crippled _Phoenix Hawk_ forward and tackled the Clan OmniMech. Both 'Mechs went through the shattered wall and disappeared down the north slope, which buckled and broke underneath them.

"Marcus!" Kahvi shouted. A _Champion_ was trying to run past her, but she swung her _Dragon's_ right arm like a baseball bat and dropped it to its knees. She held down the triggers on both control sticks, sending autocannon shells and missiles into the fallen Jaguar although both were too close to arm. Sheer impact crushed armor plates, and then she delivered a solid kick to its side. The _Champion_ shivered and then its left side exploded as the SRM magazine went off. Kahvi stepped back to finish it off, slapping the heat overrides off with a muttered Japanese curse, though her cockpit felt like a sauna and sweat ran down the control sticks. A _Thorn_ came at her from over the wall, but was then blasted back into it and fell unmoving to the ground. As she delivered a coup de grace to the fallen _Champion_, Kahvi noticed that a Sniper artillery piece had trundled up to the edge of the old runway: William Griffon was using the 105 millimeter howitzer as a direct fire weapon. She raised her autocannon in salute, but then it felt as if someone had kicked her hard in the back. The _Dragon_ went over, but Kahvi rolled with the impact and saw her attacker: a _Thug._ She kicked out, knowing it was useless, but the PPC bolts sailed over her head. She got the _Dragon_ back to its feet, and saw that the bolts had not been meant for her at all: the Sniper was now a burning wreck.

"_Bakayaro!"_ Kahvi screamed, and fired her autocannon into the _Thug._ The assault 'Mech barely moved, and turned its attention to her. Kahvi stood her ground, determined to get in a few more shots before the _Thug_ got her, and fired a flight of LRMs into it_._ Again, it barely seemed to register the hits, peppered her with SRMs, then readied the PPCs for the killing blow.

From out of nowhere, a _Crusader_ landed hard on the _Thug's_ huge shoulders, driving its legs into the other 'Mech. As the _Thug_ toppled, the _Crusader_ brought its elbow down directly on the Clan 'Mech's head. The Snowbird 'Mech got to unsteady feet as Kahvi, her mouth open in amazement, watched its weapon ports open. Two fusillades of missiles later, and the _Thug_'s head was a crushed ruin.

The _Crusader_ threw Kahvi a thumbs-up. "See? Hire the handicapped!" Mimi Stykkis laughed, and despite the death and destruction around them, Kahvi couldn't help but laugh madly right alongside her.

* * *

Kikki had intended to finish off the section of three Mechbusters she saw curving around to attack from the south, but a Snowbird _Sparrowhawk_ had overoptimistically attacked her. Knowing that the light fighter could easily outmanuever her, she had dived, then suddenly climbed, catching her opponent by surprise. A quick vertical slashing attack, and the _Sparrowhawk_ marked her fourth kill of the day. The pilot ejected cleanly, and though her orders were to shoot the Snowbird and Kurita pilots in their parachutes, Kikki let him go; she knew that it could easily be her in that parachute. She hauled the stick back and climbed again, looking for her fifth kill: it would make her an ace in a day, which very few fighter pilots achieved. Spotting a Mechbuster coming off a bombing run, she made a lazy turn, allowing the Kurita pilot to fly into her targeting reticle. Out of instinct, she glanced behind her, and instantly counted herself fortunate to do so: a Snowbird _Stingray_ had followed her into the turn, and was now positioned squarely between her _Rapier's_ twin tails. She broke right, a milisecond before a PPC beam would have blown her head off.

D'Sotra rolled right, staying with the _Rapier; _Kikki's problems doubled as Guy Honington's _Riever_ appeared and took up position on d'Sotra's wing. The Clanswoman cheated the turn tighter, but d'Sotra's _Stingray,_ with its forward-swept wing, could easily hold the turn and began cutting inside. Laserfire reached out for her and flicked away wing armor, and Kikki snapped her stick hard left into another gut-wrenching turn. She cursed herself for a fool, knowing she was playing right into her opponent's strengths: the _Stingray_ excelled at exactly this kind of turning fight, while the heavy _Rapier_ was better in the vertical. She couldn't climb away, however, not with the _Riever_ waiting for just such an opportunity. Kikki suddenly knew how the Mechbuster pilots she had killed that day felt.

Honington spotted two Clan fighters suddenly tumble from a thin cloud, heading for Ibuki's section of Mechbusters. "Sultry, I got me an _Ironsides_ and a _Zero_, two o'clock low. I think I'll take 'em out."

"Take 'em, Dude. I got this one." _I hope_, d'Sotra added mentally. The _Rapier_ was proving a damn tough target.

Honington needed no further encouragement. He fell away on one wing and accelerated, flinging himself at both Clan machines as if intent on ramming them. Star Captain Michaels, who had shot down a Snowbird _Stingray_ and a _Stuka,_ had seen the Mechbusters and decided they were easy meat. The _Riever_ was a much worthier opponent, though, aside from the fact that the Inner Sphere pilot apparently was bent on a collision. "Cougar Two, break now." Michaels was calm and unafraid: he and his wingman would split to either side, then come back around and sandwich the Inner Sphere pilot.

Cougar Two, however, panicked: he was in his first battle and so far had just managed to stay on his commander's wing all battle, freeing Michaels to concentrate on his targets. Seeing the massive flying wing coming right at him, he pulled the stick left, then right, not doing much more than causing the _Zero_ to waddle drunkenly. Michaels screamed at Cougar Two to break, to use the _Zero's_ superior manueverability, but instead the Clan pilot accelerated in level flight, making Honington's job that much easier. 24 missiles reached out from the _Riever's_ wings, causing the _Zero_ to sparkle with hits, then Honington blasted the Clan fighter with his AC/20. The _Zero_ shuddered, one wing broke free, and the fighter went down, trailing a long, greasy trail of smoke.

* * *

"_Sheila Arla-Vlata!"_

Sheila left off firing at a _Vulture_ that was menacing Maysa's lance, which was falling back in good order. None of the Clan warriors wanted to close with the murderous _Rifleman_, but neither could they get close to Marion Rhialla's assaults, who were holding the line as the pivot. Nonetheless, the Jaguars wouldn't have to if they could overrun Sheila's Command Lance or Max's heavies in the northeast corner.

"Who's that?" she radioed back, though she had a feeling she knew.

"Char Furey."

Sheila saw the _Masakari_ step through the breach, and turned to face him. "It's a bit late to surrender, Char."

"I agree. I am here to kill you."

Sheila just resisted the urge to give Furey a 'come get me' gesture with the _Shruiken's_ hand. "What's stopping you?"

"It did not have to be this way," Furey told her. "We could have been comrades. We could have been more."

Sheila snorted in disgust. "As if. Up yours, Clanner prick." She fired two PPC shots at the assault 'Mech to punctuate the statement. Neither hit, and the _Masakari_ let fly with all four PPCs from its double-barreled arms. Sheila dodged them, but the blue bolts got progressively closer.

_Four PPCs? Furey's lost it,_ Sheila thought with a fey smile. _He must really want to kill me._ A quick glance at a secondary monitor confirmed what she already suspected: the _Masakari_ was overheating. Sheila pushed down on the pedals and charged Furey head on. _If he's running a standard config, I don't want to fight him at range—_

Furey wasn't. A flight of SRMs boiled from the center torso of the _Masakari_, peppering her already damaged armor with missile hits. A warble from her instrument panel told her that the _Shruiken_ had just lost a heat sink. Nonetheless, Sheila opened fire with all five medium lasers, scoring hits in the _Masakari's_ chest. Furey staggered back, trying to get room to fire his PPCs again, but Sheila simply moved closer, to the point that the two 'Mechs nearly touched, and her quintuple medium lasers once more cut deep.

Furey, with an inhuman growl of frustration and rage, did something Sheila didn't expect: he slammed into her _Shruiken_, knocking Sheila to the ground, then stepped back and fired three PPCs into her. Leg armor shattered and myomer muscles dissolved in the man-made lightning. Sheila, fighting a wave of dizziness from the fall, rolled back and blasted his arms with the lasers, but once more the _Masakari's_ thick armor held. She struggled up to her feet, but once more Furey sent her down again with more PPC blasts. Sheila shook her head free of the blackness that threatened to overwhelm her and blinked, looking at her damage monitor. _Upper left leg actuator gone, right leg stripped, torso armor down to almost nothing. One more shot there and he'll either get the gyro or the engine, and either way, I'm done!_

"It is over!" Furey shouted at her over the open net. "Eject and I will spare you!"

"Like you spared Mary Scott?" Sheila lashed out with her damaged left leg, which groaned under the impact but somehow didn't break when it hit the _Masakari's_ right leg. "Go to hell, Furey!"

"So be it!" Furey leveled his PPCs and centered his targeting reticle on the _Shruiken's _head. "Die!" He held down both triggers. Alarms screamed at him, but he ignored them, even as he saw his first two shots go wide. The other two would not. One shot would be all it would take now to destroy Arla-Vlata's engine. Even if it exploded, he could survive it.

Suddenly Sheila brought up both the _Shruiken's_ arms and crossed them. Armor was turned to steel dust by the impact of the PPCs, but the tough 'Mech absorbed the shots. Bringing them back down, Sheila triggered first her own PPCs, then the shruiken launcher that gave her 'Mech it's name. The PPCs turned one PPC to twisted metal and destroyed the SRM launcher—then the stars stuck in the _Masakari's_ armor and ruptured, spilling white-hot inferno fluid across the Clan 'Mech. Furey instinctively stepped backward as flames licked at the canopy. He reached for his own ejection handles, faced with every MechWarrior's worst fear, the fear of burning alive. He relaxed when he remembered there were no breaches in the head armor; though the flames would burn terribly for several minutes, they could not seep into the cockpit. He was safe, and Arla-Vlata was still down—

Then Furey realized two things in quick succession: one, Sheila had gotten her 'Mech to its feet. Second, as the cockpit lights dimmed and his monitors winked out, that his _Masakari_ had finally been pushed beyond its limit. Heat levels had risen to the point where the computer sensed that both the pilot and the missile magazine were in mortal danger, and therefore it initiated an automatic shutdown. The 'Mech's arms drooped and the burning chassis sagged.

Sheila saw it and smiled a savage grin. She fired her last flight of shruikens, adding to her enemy's heat burden for good measure, then placed her 'Mech's hand around the cockpit of the _Masakari._ "Deguello," she whispered, then closed her hand slowly around the canopy frame. Plexiglass shattered and metal screamed in protest, but if Furey screamed as well or cursed her, she never heard it.

* * *

With only the _Stingray_ to deal with, Kikki figured she had a chance at survival. She climbed, hoping to throw off her opponent, but d'Sotra had anticipated the move, and landed a solid hit on the _Rapier's_ fuselage, though the fighter's armor held.

With a flash of inspiration from the Mechbuster she had shot down earlier, Kikki dropped her flaps and cut her throttle nearly to idle. "Holy shit!" d'Sotra shouted, and pulled the stick back into his lap. Somehow he cleared the _Rapier._ Kikki closed her flaps, let the _Rapier_ fall onto its back, and shoved the throttle forward. The fighter's engine banged into full life. Now d'Sotra was the hunted. He looked into the mirrors set into the canopy bow and saw the _Rapier_ closing in. He shoved the stick down and dived.

It was a mistake that nearly cost him his life. The _Rapier_ was heavier and now he was playing to its strengths. Worse, d'Sotra realized he was trapped between the Clan fighter and the ground. He slammed the stick over hard and a scream burst from his lips as ten times his own weight was pressed down on him, a punishing turn that would tear the wings from a lesser craft. The _Stingray_ skidded hard, but d'Sotra knew it was still a fraction too slow. If the _Rapier_ hit now, it would be all over—even a glancing blow from the Clan fighter's massive AC/20 would send his fighter out of control only five thousand meters above Toriyama's unyielding mass.

To his surprise, however, the _Rapier_ was turning away from him, clawing for altitude. He reversed his turn, wondering why the Clan pilot—who had to be a damn fine fighter jock—had made such a stupid mistake. His question was answered a second later, when a _Slayer_ heavy fighter flashed by him. "Where the hell did he come from?" d'Sotra wondered aloud. The mystery was compounded a second later when he remembered the Snowbirds didn't have any _Slayers_ in Fitron Six.

* * *

Mimi Stykkis staggered forward, her _Crusader's_ battered legs threatening to fail at any moment, reached out, and grabbed Glynnis Griffin's _Panther_ by its free hand. "Come on, you! Time to fall back to the Alamo!" Even as she dragged the legless light 'Mech under the cover of Marion Rhialla's _Palladium—_now out of Gauss shells, but still standing tall—Griffin continued to fire her PPC, though the dust and smoke from the battle had reduced visibility considerably. Stykkis let go when they reached the middle wall, though at this point it was little more than a speedbump, because the militia hadn't had the time to build it up here.

Mimi noticed Sheila's _Shruiken_ limp up next to her, and on the other side of Sheila, Maysa's _Rifleman_ still shifted left and right, engaging targets where they could be seen. Beyond Maysa, Tooriu's _Awesome_ stepped into line, swinging its arms like baseball bats. A Point of five Elementals had tried to attack the ponderous assault 'Mech, but after two of them were swatted out of the sky like flies, they fell back into the murk. Tooriu gave a war whoop and opened the _Awesome's_ arms wide, inviting the Clans to take their best shot. Few large-caliber shots came out of the smoke now.

"Sheila!" Mimi called out. "Think they've had enough?"

Sheila had wondered that herself; with Furey dead, she wondered if the Jaguars would indeed break off the fight. She switched to infrared, which was useless with all the waste heat from overheated 'Mechs, then to magnetic scan. It showed at least ten 'Mechs gathered around the promontory. "Max," she called out, not bothering with callsigns now. "Are you still with us?"

"I'm here, Sheila." Max had finally dispatched the _Flashman_, though it had cost him his _Battlemaster's_ other arm and it had taken out a Sun Zhang _Chameleon_ before it died. "Somehow."

"Have the Jags pulled back in your sector?"

"Just a little bit." He had also switched to magscan. The Clan 'Mechs had withdrawn into the narrow slot between the defile and Gateway Rock, but they had at least six 'Mechs still active, one of them being the massive _King Crab._ He hadn't seen the _Mad Cat_ that they knew was probably Furey's second in command, but from the lasers curving up from the defile, it might still be there. How Felisanna was still alive, Max could only wonder at.

Sheila spit a curse. The Smoke Jaguars hadn't given up at all. Whoever was commanding them now had simply pulled them back, and were now massing for one last attack. The problem was, that one last attack might roll over the Snowbirds. Sheila could count nearly fourteen of her own 'Mechs left on the line, but all of them were damaged to one extent or another, or with empty ammunition bins; for missile-heavy 'Mechs like Jinjiro Gramakov's _Catapult_, that left them with very little to fight with. Some, like Griffin's _Panther_, were barely operational. Sheila knew her own _Shruiken_ couldn't survive another pitched fight: her armor was nearly gone. _I'd be better off turning my back and firing over my shoulder,_ she groused.

"Snowbird Actual, come in! _Come in!"_

Sheila recognized Fred Matria's voice. "For God's sake, what is it, Fred?"

"We've got to mark the lines, right now!"

"Why?"

"Strafing runs! Incoming aircraft!"

Sheila hadn't seen the Mechbusters make more than a few runs, and from she had heard and stolen glances of the air battle, the Kagoshima militia fighters had suffered badly. It was unlikely a handful of aircraft could turn the tide, but battles had been decided by less. "All Snowbird 'Mechs and tanks! Mark the lines! Repeat, mark the lines! Pop smoke!"

Every BattleMech and tank carried smoke dischargers, though with infrared and magscan, they were basically worthless and rarely used—except for this purpose. Before the battle, Sheila had ordered every machine loaded with purple smoke, which could easily be seen even through the grayish dust of Toriyama. Now everyone that had heard Sheila's order fired their dischargers, causing purple smoke to drift along the lines with the wind, fitfully at first, then stronger as the sea wind blew it north.

Sheila heard Matria's voice on the open channel. "Do you have my smoke?"

"Roger, I have purple smoke." Sheila didn't recognize the voice; it was Japanese accented, but it wasn't Usagi or Ibuki. "Where do you want us?"

"Hit everything north and west of the smoke! Buster! Buster!" Matria used the fighter pilot euphemism for pouring on the speed.

"Roger that." The voice was calm and authoriative. "Here we come."

"Here _they_ come!" Mimi shouted. Lasers and Gauss shells began to reach out from the smoke. Sheila ducked under one laser bolt, though she had been seized with the wild desire to stand and take it, like her ancestors might have stood in the ancient lines of Gettysburg or Waterloo. She raised her PPCs and leveled them at a _Black Knight_ that loomed out of the smoke.

Then the 'Mech seemed to dissolve.

Missiles boiled out of the sky, so thick Sheila couldn't begin to count how many. It was followed by mass laserfire, until the very air seemed supercharged. The Clan charge died before it even got started. The Snowbirds fired nonetheless, but instead of crashing into Sheila's thin line, the Jaguars fell back in confusion. More lasers and missiles joined the fusillade, until finally a quartet of fighters shot past, kicking up curlicues in the dust cloud as they came at low level. One, which Sheila recognized easily by its shape as a _Shilone,_ let loose a flight of LRMs, then turned to give her a planform view of the fighter. She could easily see the rampant dragons of House Kurita on either wing. "Who the hell…"

"Snowbird Actual, come in please." Again, it was a new voice.

Sheila keyed her mike slowly, as if in a dream. "This is Snowbird Actual. Who is this?"

"Snowbird, this is Dragon Alpha Actual. I would be honored if you would use my name, however—Masayoshi Kitakyushu."

"Say again?"

"Kitakyushu, Commander Arla-Vlata. Tai-sa. Commanding, 1st Battalion, Ryuken-ni Regiment. Hold your current position, please. We're on our way down. I wouldn't want to land on you."

"Sheila!" Maysa shouted. "Look! Look up in the sky!"

Sheila did, out the scarred and cracked canopy of her _Shruiken._ Above the dust and smoke, in the flawless blue sky of Kagoshima, stars were falling to earth. Except that Sheila knew that those stars were BattleMechs, in a combat drop, a full battalion's worth.

"The Kanrei sends his greetings," Kitakyusho added, his voice full of mirth. "Unfortunately, he had a prior engagement on Luthien, but he thought we might prove worthy enough."

Sheila felt tears running down her cheeks, and it was with effort she controlled her voice. "I think…I think you'll do, Tai-sa."

"Merry Christmas, Commander. We will see you in a few minutes. Please save some Jaguars for us."


End file.
